Securities Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC) director-general Sou Socheat said Maybank Kim Eng Group (MKE Group) will cooperate with it to build strong regulatory frameworks and a sound ecosystem to attract more investors and develop the capital market in the country.
Socheat was speaking to The Post on the sidelines of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Cooperation and Technical Assistance Framework between the SECC and Maybank Kim Eng in the capital on Thursday.
He said with MKE Group’s broad expertise and experience, and considering its vast network, they will not only provide cooperation and assistance and technical assistance framework but also attract more investors for the development of securities industry in Cambodia.
MKE Group, within which is also Maybank Kim Eng Securities, is an award-winning stocks and derivatives brokerage firm with over 40 years of experience in Asia.
“We all know Maybank. And now Maybank Kim Eng is cooperating with the SECC. This will increase the trust of the investors, especially foreign ones in our stock market. I am confident that the MoU will take our partnership to yet another significant step forward.
“We welcome Maybank and more companies to come forward with your proposals and initiative and to work with us to grow the securities sector in Cambodia.
“This collaboration will enable us to scale new heights in our performance. Further advances will continue to power the future growth of our securities industry and, at the same time, make vital contributions to the national economy,” Socheat said.
MKE Group chief operating officer Mohamad Yasin Abdullah said its collaboration with SECC serves to help develop Cambodia’s capital market as the country’s economy “is one of the fastest-growing in the world”.
Cambodia’s financial industry, he said, also continues to expand tremendously. Operating in six Asean countries, MKE Group brings decades of regional expertise and experience into Cambodia.
He said it will prioritise sustainability and purpose-driven growth in the financial industry to ensure that Cambodia’s corporates and communities can thrive together.
“The aim of the MoU is to help the SECC develop the market and industry and to do that of course, we need to have the legal framework, infrastructure and anything else in place before we bring in regional customers.
“We need to put the ecosystem in place first and then we can talk about any potential investor so we need to execute the first step first to ensure the basic requirements are in place,” Mohamad Yasin said.
Under this three-year MoU, MKE Group and SECC will cooperate in all facets for the purpose of developing Cambodia’s capital market, which includes the sharing of best practices and standards on areas of risk management, corporate governance and compliance, product development, and standard reporting system in finance and accounting.
Cambodia started its capital market within the last 10 years, and has grown its securities products. So far, Cambodia Securities Exchange has five companies listed and three banking sector corporate bond issuers.
Last year, market capitalisation increased 157 per cent to more than $800 million. There are seven more financial institutions and companies preparing to issue equity securities and bonds, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
