The trading value and volume on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) had increased significantly by the end of the first half of 2021, despite the economic effects of the February 20 community outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
CSX had 13 listed securities as of end-June – seven stocks and six bonds, and the listed companies had cumulatively raised more than $235 million from the stock market, the latest CSX figures show.
The average daily trading volume rose to 111,126 shares per day, an increase of 135 per cent compared to 47,272 last year, representing an average daily turnover of $201,143, an increase of about 70 per cent year-on-year from just $118,143.
CSX CEO Hong Sok Hour said the bourse not only offers low-cost, long-term capital for listed firms, but also tax incentives from the government, improvements in reputation on national and international markets, and a boost in customer, investor and public confidence.
He said in a statement: “Having only one or two sources of capital can put businesses at risk, so I encourage potential companies to start diversifying their capital and capture public funding through the stock market to expand and strengthen their businesses, which is appropriate for the current context.
“For 2021, I expect the Cambodia Securities Exchange will welcome four or five new companies that will list shares and two or three more that will list bonds.”
Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) director-general Sou Socheat pointed out that in this situation where Cambodia and other countries are fighting against the spread of Covid-19, CSX presents new opportunities and significant gains in public attention.
“We are at risk from the Covid-19 crisis, but we’ve taken advantage of this risk. I received daily trading reports from the market – our trade has not fallen below one billion riel.
“Before, we never exceeded a trading volume of one billion riel, but now we get over one billion riel every day. The number of participants in the market at the beginning of the year was only 400 to 500 per day, but now not less than 1,000 per day,” he said.
On July 19, DBD Engineering & Construction (RBD) kicked off its initial public offering (IPO) roadshow.
RBD is set to go public by offering more than 6.4 million shares on the CSX’s Growth Board with plans to raise around $3 million to expand its business. It has indicated that the offer period would be from July 26 to August 18.
It will be the first company to go public on the CSX secondary board, which was launched in late 2015 to lift some of the barriers for listing and cater more to companies with less access to capital or financial resources.
