A man arranges croissants at a bakery of CBM Corporation in Phnom Penh
A man arranges croissants at a bakery of CBM Corporation in Phnom Penh August 28, 2014. Chy Sila, CEO of CBM Corporation, has come a long way since he invested his $500 life savings in a small shop in Cambodia's capital to sell bootleg music and pirated movies. Fast-forward 16 years and Cambodians are now watching the films he distributes not on scratchy DVDs but in a $5 million multiplex theatre, a joint venture with Thailand's Major Cineplex and the centrepiece of a new mall owned by Japanese retail giant Aeon that drew 2 million visitors in its opening month. Chy Sila is one of the biggest success stories in a country that was for years Southeast Asia's war-torn, aid-dependant basket case. Picture taken August 28, 2014. To match Feature CAMBODIA-ECONOMY/ REUTERS/Samrang Pring (CAMBODIA - Tags: FOOD BUSINESS)