Investment Hightlights
Cambodia Weekly Financial News February 06~10, 2023
2023-02-11View Times｜ 1087
Cambodia Weekly Financial News
February 06~10, 2023
06 February 2023
Joint venture funds coming to Cambodia ‘by end of Q1’
The Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) is set to authorize the establishment of joint venture funds in the first quarter of this year ending March 31, as the underlying regulatory framework nears completion, paving the way for licensed companies to raise money for investment projects. SERC director-general Sou Socheat said on February 6 that his institution has conducted several public consultations with stakeholders to obtain additional feedback and input to design a comprehensive prakas that can be applied effectively. “This will be additional regulation for the joint venture market, … allowing [licensed companies] to issue these funds,” he said, affirming the first-quarter target.
Source: The Phnom Penh Post
06 February 2023
Kingdom’s growth story to continue in 2023
Amid the predictions by major global institutions about a slowdown across developed economies and its impact on developing nations, ASEAN countries like Cambodia remain a beacon of hope. The Cambodian economy is estimated to grow at 5.6 percent this year against the earlier estimate of 6.6 percent. It was stated by Vongsey Vissoth, the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s permanent secretary of state while taking part in an event on macroeconomic management and the 2023 budget law, last week. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Cambodia is likely to reach $28.58 billion by the end of this year, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts' expectations. In the long term, the Cambodian GDP is projected to be around $30.24 billion in 2024 and $38.39 billion in 2025, as per the econometric models.
Source：Khmer Time
07 February 2023
Government bonds to be issued through the second platform
The government will issue its bonds in the primary market in the second quarter of this year through a second platform called the Government Securities Auction Platform (GSAP), in addition to the National Bank of Cambodia Auction Platform (NBCP). Institutional investors will be able to enter the auctions of the government bonds through the new platform developed by the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), and “The first auction of the government bonds through the GSAP is expected in the second quarter this year,” said its CEO Hong Sok Hour. Currently, government bonds are issued only through NBCP. GSAP is a soon-to-be-launched platform developed by the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) in addition to the NBCP, with both auction platforms putting emphasis on different maturity periods.
Source：Khmer Time
07 February 2023
SME Bank has $220M set for loans: CEO
The state-owned Small and Medium Enterprise Bank of Cambodia Plc (SME Bank) has prepared an additional sum of more than $220 million to loan to the Kingdom’s smaller businesses and give them a better shot at sustainability, to expand and boost economic growth in the post-Covid-19 era. The bank was established in February 2020 and lends directly and through co-financing schemes with 33 participating financial institutions (PFI) at present. SME Bank CEO Lim Aun said on January 7 that the sum would go to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) through both direct loans and those made under co-financing schemes, with a focus on women-owned businesses as well as priority sectors like manufacturing, processing, agriculture, and industry.
Source：The Phnom Penh Post
07 February 2023
Cambodia seeks rice exports to the Philippine market
In order to expand the rice market and exports, a delegation of the Ministry of Commerce and the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) visited the Philippines and engaged in negotiations with Philippine officials. The two sides agreed to study the possibility of re-signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on rice trade under state mechanisms which are expected to be signed soon. During the visit, the Cambodian delegation also discussed the mechanism and technical terms and prices for supply with Philippine rice importers. The importers are interested in the quality of rice and intend to import Cambodian rice to the Philippine market as well.
Source：Khmer Time
08 February 2023
Single Portal clocks 21,000 registrations worth $6.15B
More than 21,000 businesses with over $6.15 billion capital have been registered with the government’s Online Business Registration platform known as the Single Portal as on February 6, a report by the Ministry of Economy and Finance showed. According to a press release, among the sectors, construction was on top by providing 16 percent of the total investment, followed by real estate with 12 percent, consultant service with six percent, financial and insurance activities and manufacturing with five percent each, and all other sectors together 55 percent.
Source：Khmer Time
08 February 2023
ABC, CMA caution against illegal lending
The Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) and the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) urged people not to go to informal money lenders, when in the need of some help. This was stated at a press conference about the situation of the banking sector and proactive measures against informal money lenders, at the ABC office on Tuesday. Rath Sophoan, ABC Vice-Chair said, “The financial inclusion agenda is very important to help the public access financial services from licensed institutions. It helps promote expanding operations and new financial products, and raising financial awareness among the public.”
Source：Khmer Time
08 February 2023
CP BANK, ADB partner on small business loan project
Cambodia Post Bank Plc (CPBank) has partnered with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on a $10 million loan initiative to provide to the Kingdom’s micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) to support their recovery after years of Covid-related disruptions, according to ADB. “At least 50 percent of the proceeds are marked to finance MSMEs led by women,” the Metro Manila-based multilateral lender said in a February 7 statement. “MSMEs account for 99.8 percent of all enterprises in Cambodia and employ upwards of 72 percent of the labor force. Cambodian MSMEs have limited access to finance, with less than 20 percent of unregistered enterprises acquiring a loan or a line of credit from a financial institution. “Most of them are owned by women. The challenges facing female entrepreneurs are particularly acute, with fewer than five percent having access to formal credit. “ADB will help CPBank to incorporate gender equality and women’s empowerment into its business activities through the development of a gender action plan and the appointment of a staff-level gender focal point,” It added.
Source：The Phnom Penh Post
09 February 2023
NBC calls for more UK investment, exports
National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) assistant governor Chea Serey on February 7 proposed that British businesspeople ramp up their investments in Cambodia and buy more local goods, to strengthen bilateral economic relations and stimulate recovery in the Southeast Asian country following a downturn linked to Covid-19 and the Ukraine crisis. Serey made the request at a meeting with the newly-appointed British ambassador to Cambodia, Dominic Williams, at the NBC, according to a statement issued by the central bank later that day. In early January 2023, NBC stated that, despite a raft of external challenges, Cambodia’s economic growth is expected to accelerate to about six percent this year, from 5.1 percent in 2022. In 2022, the bilateral merchandise trade between Cambodia and the UK reached $977.439 million, up by 23.9 percent over a year earlier, as shown by Customs data, which has been chalked up to rising post-Covid-19 demand.
Source：The Phnom Penh
09 February 2023
SERC, CSX change IPO, listing procedures for more efficiency
The securities market authority Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) and securities market operator Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) have changed their procedures for applications for Initial Public Offering (IPO) and Listing Eligibility Review (LER) to improve the efficiency of approvals, according to a senior official of CSX. Any firm that seeks capital or funds by issuing shares or bonds in Cambodia’s securities market would be allowed to submit their respective applications for IPO with SERC and LER with CSX at the same time as per the changed procedures, said the official who is in charge of securities market operations at CSX. IPO stock launch refers to the issuance or sale of shares done for the first time by a company for the public through the primary market in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail investors, while LER is the process of examining a set of documents submitted by applicants for a committee of the stock exchange to decide whether they are qualified to be listed or not.
Source：Khmer Time
10 February 2023
Cambodia’s exports to the EU surged 25% YoY to $4.045 bn in 2022
Cambodia’s exports to the European Union (EU) last year were worth $4.045 billion—a more than 25 percent hike from the $3.229 billion registered in 2021, according to the ministry of commerce. Cambodia-EU trade was worth $4.857 billion last year, rising by 15.9 percent from $4.190 billion in 2021. The country’s imports from the bloc were worth $812 million, dropping by nearly 16 percent year on year (YoY) from $961 million. the country’s trade surplus with the EU expanded just under three-sevenths to $3.23 billion last year, from $2.27 billion in 2021. Germany was Cambodia’s largest EU trading partner last year, accounting for $1.247 billion—up by 19.28 percent YoY, according to the country’s general department of customs and excise (GDCE).
Source：Khmer Time
10 February 2023
Three large Chinese companies to continue investment in Cambodia
Three large Chinese companies have expressed their interest to continue their investment in infrastructure development in Cambodia, after investing in the construction of more than 2,000 kilometers long of road and bridge in the Kingdom. The interest was unveiled while their senior representatives separately paid courtesy calls to Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, during the latter’s stay in Beijing, China yesterday afternoon, according to TVK special correspondent. The Chinese companies include China Communications Construction Company Ltd., China Road and Bridge Corporation, and China Metro Group Limited.
Source：Khmer Time
10 February 2023
Finance ministry discusses annual budget performing report 2022
Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) organized a meeting to discuss about monitoring results and check the progress of budget implementation of subordinate units and under guardianship, a release said today. The result and progress report discussed were obtained from reviewed financial data, and achievement overview, in accordance with the relevant regulations and budget achievements. It also set challenges and solutions to promote implementation as well as achievements of the objectives in the coming years according to the press release. Ministry revenue collection increased to 99.1 percent in 2022 from – 98.5 percent in 2021 compared to the law (excluding sub-national tax revenue). Within that, the middle sectors achieved 28.77 trillion Riels equivalent to 99.1 percent and basic sectors achieved 633.5 trillion Riels equivalent to 157.6 percent compared to a law, according to the release.
Source：The Phnom Penh Post
