Stock Trading to Start Next Month With Water Authority IPO

The Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) will become the first publicly traded company on the Cambodian Stock Exchange (CSX) when trading begins on April 18, Ming Bankosal the general director of the Securities and Exchanges Commission of Cambodia said yesterday. “We are planning on that day if everything goes smoothly,” Mr. Bankosal said on the sidelines of a ceremony to launch the PPWSA’s book-building, a process in which the authority accepts bids from investors and determines the quantity of shares and their listing price for an initial public offering (IPO). … With the announcement of a date for stock trading, which comes after more than six months of inactivity on the CSX, economists and experts differed on whether the privatization of Phnom Penh’s water supply would push the state-run company forward, or become a causalty of special investor interests. …