Reuters, March 3 - At least 10 private sector
companies want to list on Cambodia's long-awaited bourse, which
is due to open this year, the government said on Thursday, as
debate continued over which currency the market should use.
"There are two state-owned companies and more than 10
private companies," Hang Chuon Naron, a secretary of state at
the Finance Ministry, told journalists at a currency conference
in Phnom Penh when discussing interest in the bourse.
He declined to give further details.
Earlier this week, Finance Minister Keat Chhon urged more
private companies to seek a listing so they could raise funds
to expand.
"The government has also considered tax incentives for
companies that issue public shares and this work is in final
technical discussion," Keat Chhon said on Monday after
approving licences for firms that will work on the Cambodia
Stock Exchange (CSX), such as settlement agents.
Keat Chhon said the government had signed contracts with
two securities firms to help three state-owned companies, the
Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, Telecom Cambodia and
Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, prepare listings.
The much-delayed market is now scheduled to open in July.
One big question is over what currency to use for listings,
and a decision on that is expected within a week, said Huot
Pum, a deputy director-general of the bourse regulator, the
Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC).
Foreign investors want to see shares quoted in U.S.
dollars, which is widely used for transactions in Cambodia and
accounts for 90 percent of deposits and credits in its banking
system, and say risk will be harder to gauge if the local
currency, the riel, is used.
Hang Chuon Naron did not suggest what the decision would
be, but he said a change in the reality of a 90 percent
dollarised economy was unrealistic in the short term.
"This is a fact. If we make changes, we should do it
gradually in accordance with reality. If we force the use of
the riel or another currency, it will not reflect reality," he
said.
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