Cambodia’s Law on Telecommunications establishes a legal obligation for passive infrastructure sharing among licensed operators. According to Art. 32, telecommunications operators must provide access to their supporting infrastructure, including the physical assets used to provide services, upon request by other operators. This access must be granted in accordance with the principles of non-discrimination, technical compatibility, transparency, and affordability, as outlined in Art. 31.

According to Art. 3 of the Law on Public Enterprises, the Cambodian government must directly or indirectly hold more than 51% of the capital or voting rights in state-owned enterprises. As Telecom Cambodia—the country's principal telecom company—is fully state-owned, certain restrictions apply to this entity.

Government procurement in Cambodia is reported to lack transparency, with tenders often announced with short response times and published only on the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) website. Irregularities in the procurement process are common, despite legal requirements for audits and inspections. Although there have been allegations of misconduct in several ministries, the government has taken little action to investigate. It is reported that while the 2023 Law on Public Procurement introduced additional provisions aimed at strengthening the regulation and management of public procurement, stakeholders have not observed any significant improvements in practice.

Telecom Cambodia, the principal telecommunications company in the country, is a fully state-owned enterprise established under Sub-Decree No. 01. As provided in Art. 1 of the Decree, Telecom Cambodia is a public enterprise that operates under the technical supervision of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the financial oversight of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

It is reported that the government has included domestic preferences for SMEs in public procurement procedures; however, this practice is not specified in legislation.

It is reported that Cambodia does not mandate functional or accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecommunications sector. However, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC) is reportedly drafting a Prakas on competition, which is expected to define the criteria for classifying SMP operators and assessing dominance in the sector.

Cambodia is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status.

The Law on Telecommunications grants the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) autonomy in administrative and regulatory matters for the telecommunications sector, while the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC) is responsible for networks and infrastructure supporting the telecommunications sector. It is reported that the TRC and the MPTC enjoy vast discretionary powers to grant licenses and set terms and conditions, which vary on a case-by-case basis. Art. 17 of the Law on Telecommunications regulates unified (multi-service) licenses. A license is required for the provision of: mobile telecommunications services; fixed-line telecommunications services; VoIP services; Internet service provider (ISP) services; telecommunications-type approval; national numbering plan; access code; public switched telephone network (PSTN); and Internet cafés.
Some customary licensing terms and steps include: (i) license terms of between 10 to 30 years onward (with some renewability); (ii) license fees based on a combination of a percentage of gross revenue (the percentage usually increases throughout the license) plus a percentage of dividend sharing; and (iii) there may be inter-connection fees, an annual frequency charge fee, microwave license fees, etc., applicable on a case-by-case basis. The percentage of revenue and dividends to be shared increases incrementally, reaching around 10% over 10 years. It is reported that the exact percentages of revenue and dividends to be shared by operators with the TRC/MPTC vary on a case-by-case basis and are determined by the terms and conditions negotiated between the TRC/MPTC and the operator. Moreover, it is reported that older licensees sometimes have to pay a higher revenue share. Licensees with some fixed-network capability or carrying international traffic may also be required to share up to 50% of their gross revenue with the MPTC or TRC.

According to Art. 3 of the Law on Public Enterprises, the Cambodian government must directly or indirectly hold more than 51% of the capital or voting rights in state-owned enterprises. As Telecom Cambodia—the country's principal telecom company—is fully state-owned, certain restrictions apply to this entity.

Cambodia has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Under Arts. 10–12 of Cambodia’s Law on Investment, any person seeking to implement a Qualified Investment Project (QIP), Expanded Qualified Investment Project (EQIP), or Guaranteed Investment Project (GIP) must submit a written Investment Project Application to the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). The CDC assesses the application through its One-Stop Service mechanism, which operates through seconded representatives of relevant ministries and institutions acting under delegated decision-making authority. Where the proposed investment is not included in the Negative List (to be specified by Sub-Decree), the CDC must issue a Registration Certificate within 20 working days.
In addition, Art. 11 of Sub-Decree No. 60 (2016) requires the CDC to refer specified categories of projects to the Council of Ministers for approval, including projects with investment capital of USD 50 million or more, projects involving politically sensitive issues, projects relating to the exploration or exploitation of mineral and natural resources, projects that may have negative environmental impacts, projects characterised as long-term strategic, and projects involving infrastructure concessions.

According to Art. 26.1 of the E-Commerce Law, e-commerce service providers and intermediaries must obtain e-commerce permits or licenses from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) in addition to the general business registration. According to Art 26.2, the licensing regime has two categories: (1) an e-commerce permit (for individual persons and sole proprietorships) and (2) an e-commerce license (for legal persons and branches of foreign companies). In August 2020, Cambodia issued Sub-Decree No. 134, an implementing regulation of the E-Commerce Law, clarifying that a license is required for legal persons and branches of foreign companies carrying out the following activities: e-commerce web services, e-commerce platform services, online market services, online auction website services, and other similar services provided through software or smart devices for the promotion of e-commerce (Art. 5.1). In addition, pursuant to Art. 5.2 of the Sub-Decree, an E-Commerce permit is required for natural persons and sole proprietors that operate a business via an electronic system in Cambodia (including those who conduct business via social media and electronic systems to supply or sell/purchase goods and services).
According to Arts. 6 and 7 of Sub-Decree No. 134, for issuance of an e-commerce license or permit, business and tax registration is required. Art. 29 of the e-Commerce Law also requires the provision of the business entity's name, registered address, and contact number or email address in Cambodia. Moreover, Art. 7 of the Sub-Decree also states that, in cases where the intermediary is a legal entity or foreign branch, it must enter into a contract with the service providers regarding the requirement to provide minimum information.
The E-Commerce Law broadly defines e-commerce service providers and intermediaries (Annex). An e-commerce service provider is defined as a "person who uses electronic means to supply goods and/or services except for insurance establishments". On the other hand, intermediary "refers to a person who provides the services of sending, receiving, transmitting or storing services of the electronic communication, either on a temporary or permanent basis, or provides other services relating to the electronic communication, including the following persons: a person representing the sender, receiver, transmitter, or the custodian; telecommunication service providers; network service providers; internet service providers; search engines providers; online payment service providers; online auction service providers; online marketplaces service providers and internet commerce service provider".

Art. 116 of the Law on the Patents, Utility Model Certificates and Industrial Designs states that where an applicant’s ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside the Kingdom of Cambodia, the applicant shall be represented by an agent residing and practising in the Kingdom of Cambodia and fulfilling the prescribed requirements. In addition, it is reported that Cambodia’s patent authority lacks sufficient funding and expertise to examine patent applications.

Art. 43 of the Law on Patents, Utility Model Certificates and Industrial Designs establishes that the patent owner may institute court proceedings against any infringer or anyone who performs acts that make infringement likely. Upon request of the patent owner, or by a licensee in certain circumstances, a court may grant an injunction to prevent infringement or imminent infringement, award damages, or any other remedy provided for by law (Art. 126). However, Art. 47 states that the Cambodian Government has the right to exploit a patented invention itself, or allow third parties to do so, for the purpose of promoting ‘public interests’, including national defence, nutrition, health and development.

Cambodia is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).