In alignment with the vision of the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Financial Sector Development Plan, the securities market was established as a means for mobilising and allocating capital to finance the many types of investment, and to promote national economic growth.

The Kingdom’s securities market continues to make considerable strides since its establishment more than 10 years ago, particularly over the past few years and despite the challenges of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the SECC plans to launch the collective investment scheme (CIS) to boost market efficiency and effectively mobilise remaining cash in the economy.

Eight fund management, 10 trustee and two distribution companies have been licensed to carry out CIS operations.

And alongside all its local activities, the SECC also plays an active role on the international stage, with it set to be a vice-chair at the 2021 Asean Capital Markets Forum (ACMF), which will be chaired by Brunei.

The ACMF is a high-level grouping of Asean securities regulators established under the auspices of the regional bloc’s finance ministers, whose primary responsibility is to develop regional securities market integration.

Currently, seven listed companies have issued shares on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), with capital mobilisation of around $101 million. Six listed firms have issued corporate bonds, raising more than $143 million, while total market capitalisation is approximately $2.45 billion (around 10 per cent of GDP).

Additionally, a growth board has been established to implement the government’s policy of promoting the financing of SMEs through the securities market.

The securities market cannot operate smoothly without four key players – market operator, securities intermediaries, securities issuers, and both local and foreign investors – while to ensure it operates sustainably, efficiently, transparently and in an orderly manner, it also requires further market participants to take part, such as fund management companies.

The derivatives market is another part of the securities market, which is traded mainly on contract for differences (CFD), including for currencies, precious metals, commodities (agricultural products) and crude oil.

This market was established in 2016, and trading volume has increased significantly from $183 million to around $325 million from the third quarter of 2019 to 2020. In addition, five central counterparties, 31 derivatives brokers, and 94 derivatives agents have been licensed and granted accreditation by the SECC to carry out derivatives trading – with there now being some 4,744 trading accounts.

At the same time, the SECC continually promotes the securities sector, raising awareness among private companies, public institutions, potential companies and those approved to work as professionals in the securities sector, as well as the general public.

As a result, as of 2020, the SECC had conducted 20 training courses for some 1,635 approved participants, with 61 people taking part in an online training session. Training was also held for 72 public investors and university students, with 8,775 participants in total.

Thirty courses were held for interested companies, with a total of 1,850 participants, while 2,000 high school students took part in 10 training sessions. Eleven workshops for some 350 journalists were also held.

Overall, the SECC has organised 143 training sessions, with one course held online, for a total of 14,671 participants.

Prepared by: Department of Research, Training, Securities Market Development, and IRs

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