Kingdom’s bourse missing some magic

At the headquarters of the Cambodia Securities Exchange on the 25th floor of Canadia Tower, something seems to be missing. Here, in Phnom Penh’s business heart, the sights typically associated with trading shares – gesticulating, shouting traders, the confusing hand signals, the buzz in the air as thoughts of money blanket the room – are nonexistent. … Nearly two years after Cambodia’s landmark bourse launched in July 2011, the heady enthusiasm of the early days is competing with disillusion. Only one company is listed: the state-owned Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority. And, after an initial spike, its shares have plummeted back to its listing level. Attempts by others to make the leap onto the exchange have fallen hard. … Plans for a Cambodian bourse materialised in 2008 between the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Korea Exchange. A year later, both parties signed a joint venture to create the CSX. Under the agreement, Cambodia owns 55 per cent, while the rest goes to the Korea Exchange. While the market had its inauguration in July 2011, trading started in April 2012, after the water supply authority went public. … The initial plan for the exchange was to begin with three state-owned companies, including Telecom Cambodia and Sihanoukville Autonomous Port. Earlier this month, however, the director general of the Sihanoukville deep sea port, Lou Kim Chhun, said the company is still working with an underwriter, SBI Phnom Penh Securities, on its IPO. He didn’t have a time frame. In March, Telecom Cambodia’s plan to join was derailed by poor finances and after an alleged embezzlement scandal at its top levels. …

 Anne Renzenbrink
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062166422/Business/kingdom-s-bourse-missing-some-magic.html