Heng Chivoan/ Phnom Penh Post

Hong Sokhour, CEO of the Cambodia Securities Exchange, gives a stock-trading demonstration yesterday at the CSX in Phnom Penh.

The final technical aspects of the Cambodian Securities Exchange were completed yesterday, readying the exchange for listing and trading, government officials said.

A date for the initial public offerings of the three companies expected to list on the exchange was not disclosed.

“The securities market infrastructure is now complete,”  Economy and Finance Minister Keat Chhon said during an exchange simulation yesterday, explaining that securities firms and banks were connected via the CSX IT system.

In a separate training session late yesterday, officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC) met with leaders from the three expected listers –Phnom Penh Water Supply, Telecom Cambodia and Sihanoukville Autonomous Port – to discuss corporate governance.

Officials have attributed the delays in listing on the exchange, which officially opened in July, to a lack of familiarity with standard trading procedures among companies.

Company transparency and accountability to stakeholders was a main concern at yesterday’s training session.

“Effective corporate governance is essential to a well-functioning public market,” Ruwan Hulugalle, a market-entry consultant, said during the session. “It maintains the trust and confidence of shareholders and investors.”

Lim Channa, acting head of the corporate governance division of the SECC, said companies were still in the process of selecting independent and non-executive directors, one of the SECC’s benchmarks for meeting good governance standards.

Lao Saroeun, director-general of Telecom Cambodia, said forming the board of directors was a challenge, given that the process started from scratch.