The Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC) announced yesterday that it will publish a new updated Cambodia Bond Market Guide by the end of this year, with the hopes that it will raise public awareness for the new financial tool that received a formal regulatory framework in August.

The announcement came as members of the SECC met with experts from the Asia Development Bank yesterday for a workshop meant to prepare Cambodian companies for the first issuance of a corporate bond.

Sok Dara, deputy director of SECC, said that the Cambodia Bond Market Guide 2017 will be an important asset for firms and investors to learn about the financial tool. The guidebook will focus on teaching companies how to monitor the market as well as outlining the terms and conditions for bond issuance.

“Stakeholders in the market can take this guidebook and use it as a fundamental tool that will pave the way for investors, companies and other parties to learn more about this new market mechanism,” he said, adding that the document, once completed, will be publicly available on the SECC website.

Additionally, the SECC announced that Cambodia will host the 27th Asean + 3 Bond Market Forum early next year. The forum is expected to boost the prospects Cambodian companies to issue corporate bonds and introduce investors to the Kingdom’s nascent stock exchange.