Lao And Cambodian Stock Exchanges Stagnant After Two Years With A Combined Three Companies Listed
If you were given all the money in the world to invest in a stock from the stock exchanges of Laos and Cambodia, which stock would you choose? You might not actually get a lot of choices – both exchanges are stagnant two years after becoming operational, due to domestic companies being unwilling to reveal financial information, unfavorable rules and regulations, and limited understanding by potential investors. The Lao Securities Exchange (LSX) has two companies listed currently, which is double that of the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX). …
The Cambodian government is pressing two other state-linked businesses – Telecom Cambodia and Sihanoukville Autonomous Port – to hold their IPOs. Several deadlines have come and gone without anything happen, however. …
Kao Thach, the deputy director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, said the country should incorporate a program about the stock market into education, so young people as well as investors can have more understanding about how the market works.
Cambodia has more potential companies than Laos, as it has more manufacturing activities and a more active real estate business.
However, Thach believes CSX should focus on manufacturing and service sectors, but not real estate, due to heavy speculation in the real estate market.
“The property companies in Cambodia currently are not good enough for our economy,” Thach said, according to the Bangkok Post. “They can’t create jobs for our people. What those companies do is buy and sell land for profit and speculate on the market prices. So, I don’t think that real estate can support our stock market.”
Sophie Song
http://www.ibtimes.com/lao-cambodian-stock-exchanges-stagnant-after-two-years-combined-three-companies-listed-1320809
