The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) on Thursday inaugurated its new headquarters on Phnom Penh’s Street 106, which was renovated at a cost of $4 million in order to house the struggling bourse.
The CSX moved its operations from the 25th floor of the nearby Canadia Tower to the French colonial-style building in September—three years after it launched —but waited until Thursday to officially open its new offices.
A 45-percent share of the CSX is owned by South Korea’s bourse, and South Korean officials said that the new building would improve its image and help strengthen Cambodia’s economy in the long term.
“The Cambodian government has set a vision to become an upper-middle [income] country by 2030. In order to achieve this goal, a strong base for the economy is required,” South Korean Ambassador Kim Weon-jin said at the event.
“A robust capital market is an essential part of that base, and it mobilizes and channels much-needed capital for business,” he added.
“The Korean government also supports the development of the CSX…[and] we will provide $2.5 million from 2014 to 2016 to develop a long-term strategic plan for the securities market in Cambodia.”
Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon, who served as finance minister between 1994 and 2013, said the building in central Phnom Penh would allow the CSX to expand.
“The building provides a wider workplace, allowing the CSX to work effectively, and allows for the accommodation of big events, and also enhances the reputation for the securities sector in Cambodia,” Mr. Chhon said.
“The growth of the market seems to be slow,” he added. “To attract more companies…the Cambodian government is drafting regulations to allow SMEs [small and medium enterprises]—the pillars of the national economy—to list on the CSX.
“The government…is also drafting regulation to allow the companies to issue bonds to the public,” the deputy prime minister said. “Bond markets give additional options to the companies that need [to issue] large amounts of long-term capital debt, other than bank loans.”
The CSX presently has only two firms listed, and soon after launching stopped hosting share traders, requiring them to make trades online. The bourse last month launched a number of “trading tools” to allow buyers and sellers to make exchanges in real time.
Earlier this week, Finance Ministry secretary of state Nguon Sokha said only 0.03 percent of the shares of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority and only 0.01 percent of the shares of Grand Twins International garment factory—the two firms listed on the bourse—are being actively traded.
