Agreement will see 30 experts offer training on exchange laws

THIRTY Australian experts will today start a two-year training programme for the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC), according to an agreement signed Friday.

The experts will help to build the capacity of SECC officials to ensure laws on the exchange are properly followed.

The deal was signed Friday in Phnom Penh between the Cambodian government; Michael Lynch, CEO of Australian Business Volunteers (ABV); and Margaret Adamson, the Australian ambassador to Cambodia.

Ming Bankosal, director general of the SECC, signed on behalf of the government, and said the agreement would also allow the ABV's experts to take part consulting on draft regulations for the exchange.

"[This agreement] will ensure that professional skills are transferred to the officials of the SECC, and will provide training for the public and participants in the market as well," he said at the ceremony.

The ABV's Lynch said the experts are specialists in a number of key areas.

"Thirty Australian experts volunteered for the two-year agreement, which is planned to cost US$1.5 million [and is being] financed by the Australian Agency for International Development," Lynch said. "They have different expertise: Some are specialised in securities skills, some have banking skills, and some are lawyers."

He said the group would provide training on securities and stock exchange law, as well as advising on taxation, money-laundering and corruption.

Lynch said the programme's relatively low cost is due to its voluntary nature.

"Our people will give their time for free - they are not getting a salary," he said. "They are willing to support Cambodia."

Chea Pengchheang, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said the technical assistance would provide a significant boost to capacity building at the SECC.