ACLEDA, Tong Yang sign MoU

[PHNOM PENH POST]

Tong Yang Securities (Cambodia) and ACLEDA Securities yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding to partner the services they offer to the Kingdom’s budding financial markets.

To expand their footprint in the market,  the companies aimed to provide a combination of advisory and underwriting services for companies planning to list on the CSX, officials said yesterday.

ACLEDA Bank president and chief executive In Channy pointed to Tong Yang’s experience with its home South Korean markets as a main reason for the partnership, while Tong Yang president and chief executive You Joon Ryeol noted ACLEDA’s reach within the Kingdom.

“The partnership we are marking today will create the real synergy for each party’s growth by putting each other’s expertise and strength together,” You Joon Ryeol said.

Tong Yang Securities is a licensed underwriter that is readying Phnom Penh Water Supply and Telecom Cambodia for trading on the Cambodia Securities Exchange, which launched in July without any public listings.

ACLEDA Securities, a subsidiary of ACLEDA Bank, is licensed as a broker, in addition to other services including cash settlement agent.

Fifteen securities firms – seven underwriters, four brokers, three dealers and two investment advisers – had been licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, but a merger between SBI Phnom Penh Securities and Cambodia Capital last month shrank that number to 14.

SBI director Jeremy Ha said the large number of securities firms was not a problem in a new market such as Cambodia.

“In my view, it’s okay because the market is open,” Ha said, adding that other firms might seek partnerships to bolster their positions in the Kingdom’s financial markets.