In a discussion with the “Cambodia’s Global Dialogue,” a public affairs program on the Southeast Asia TV (SEATV) channel in Cambodia, Chris Malone, a senior partner at Monitor, explains the how the firm helps governments and industries around the world assess and improve their regional and global economic competitiveness.

The interview with Sok Siphana, the program’s host, took place as Cambodia hosted an international rice forum. Asked about Cambodia’s stature in the industry, Malone explains that one could start with the country’s World Economic Forum ranking for global competitiveness, and then drill down into the components of the competitiveness ranking and study other evaluations of the country’s economy. Cambodia ranks relatively low—109 of 139 in the 2010 ranking—on the global competitiveness scale and leaders need to understand its relative strengths and weaknesses.

“The competitiveness of Cambodia is defined by its local market,” Malone says.  “There are healthy local industries such as the rice industry that have thrived and been really successful in the local market, but competitiveness is really a global game. So it will be very interesting to see how that industry evolves as it starts to become more export-oriented.”

Competitiveness is ultimately about productivity, Malone continues. “And productivity is what drives the prosperity of the people in the country. And that ultimately comes down to the efficiency with which you can produce a product and the price you can realize in international markets. That is where competitiveness focuses. That is the ultimate objective, raising standards of living by having more successful businesses in the country.”

Malone adds that Cambodia is now a factor-driven economy in which producers of commodities compete on cost. “As the country develops and produces more products, then it will compete on unique value. Then the challenge of competitiveness will be different,” he notes. “But I would say the top priority today, given that Cambodia is competing on cost, is to get scale, scalability but also critical mass” in its production of goods such as rice.

Click on the video below to view a 14-minute segment from the broadcast on SEATV.