Investment Hightlights

Cambodia Weekly Financial News
August 07~11, 2023

07 August 2023

Acleda bank’s AFT hold 8.6M shares by end-July

Acleda Financial Trust (AFT), has bought 8.63 million listed shares of Acleda Bank Plc on Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) as of July 31, 2023, according to the bank’s bourse filing on August 1. AFT is a successor of the Acleda NGO, the legitimate owner of the accumulated donor equity capital. Kim Sophanita, director of CSX Securities Market Operations Department said that the AFT’s filing is an update of its investment progress of ACLEDA Bank in an effort to show its commitment and continuation of their five-year investment plan, as announced in February 2022. “The continuation of the AFT investment plan would help correct the supply and demand mismatch and improve the share price accordingly, whether to increase the price or reduce the price drop,” she said.

Source : The Phnom Penh Post 

07 August 2023

Royal Group Securities, IDI to assist with capital, IPOs

Locally-owned Royal Group Securities (RGS) and the Innovation and Development Investors Association (IDI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to help private firms raise funds through initial public offerings (IPOs). The MoU was signed between RGS CEO Seng Chan Thoeun and Hor Sereyvath, IDI and ID Capital Plc board chairman, on August 1. Seng Chan said both institutions want to support members, business partners and related parties in raising capital or funding via IPO, bond issuance and private funding. The partners also aim to establish a channel to exchange information regarding financial services, provide education programs and training, organize study tours, for RGS employees and IDI members. There are also initiatives to set up joint marketing activities with the objective of increasing brand awareness. “RGS and IDI will work together to [show] how companies in Cambodia, especially IDI members, can raise funds through the capital market via IPOs or bond offerings.

Source : The Phnom Penh Post 

07 August 2023

Breaking down new Law on Investment

The new Law on Investment brings along a host of incentives for investors such as periods of annual tax breaks and tax incentives for imports and made simpler procedures for project registration. Besides, it provides tax holidays for up to 15 years for Qualified Investment Projects (QIPs) including supporting, exporting and expanding projects. Khmer Times looks at what lucrative benefits the law offers to investors. In continuation to the ongoing dissemination of the new Law on Investment,  Cambodia’s highest decision-making body for private and public investments, the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) have recently updated the two new legal frameworks to the approximately 90 members of the Travel Goods and Leather Association (CTLA) and Cambodia Footwear Association (CFA) at a hybrid workshop presided over by Suon Sophal, CDC’s Director of Department of Public Relations and Promotion of Private Investment on July 18, 2023.

Source : Khmer Time   

08 August 2023

Insurance sector logs $28.7M premium in June

Cambodia’s insurance sector logged $28.7 million in premiums in June this year, a 7.5 percent increase compared to the same month last year. The growth was driven by 18 general insurers, 14 life insurers, seven micro-insurance companies, one reinsurance firm, and 20 insurance brokers, 34 corporate agents, and loss adjusters. The gross premium of the general insurance market in June this year rose 24.2 percent to $11 million, from $8.9 million in June 2022. Life insurance premiums totaled $17 million, edging down 1.1 percent, while micro-insurance premiums amounted to $562,487, up 2 percent, the report said. The total amount of claims paid out by insurers during the period increased 88 percent to $3.3 million, from $1.7 million in June last year.

Source  : Khmer Time 

08 August 2023

Cambodian, Indonesian firms sign trade expansion deal

Cambodia’s private firm Ung Kheang Group and Indonesian counterpart Graha PPI Friday last week entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the opening of the 14th Indonesia Trade and Tourism Promotion (14th ITTP) in Phnom Penh to purchase products from each other to supply domestic and overseas markets. The opening ceremony of the three-day 14th ITTP event on “Strengthening Cooperation through Collaboration” was presided over by Chhuon Dara, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) of Cambodia, Lauti Nia Astri, Chargé d’affaires ad interim at the Embassy of The Republic of Indonesia and Ambassadors from different embassies in Phnom Penh. After the opening ceremony during the 14th ITTP that the MoU will be implemented within a few months as the Indonesian needs to check the actual import quota that the governments of the countries have agreed with each other and his company will purchase sea fish, coffee, oiling and many other goods to supply Cambodia’s market.

Source : Khmer Time    

09 August 2023

Indonesia sign MoU for improved trade facilitation, finance

Cambodia and Indonesia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on financial services and to facilitate better business, trade and investment for both countries. The MoU was signed by Mey Vann, head of the General Department of Financial Industry under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and who is also secretary-general for the Non-Banking Financial Services Authority (NBFSA) and Agus Edy Siregar, deputy commissioner for International Affairs, Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing of the Indonesian Financial Services Authority, in Phnom Penh on August 7. Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) vice-president Lim Heng said that the cooperation is a new effort by both countries’ financial sectors to give confidence to investors to work together, invest or do business in Cambodia and Indonesia. “Indonesia is a good trading partner for our country. We receive [a lot of] foreign direct investment in various fields from them every year. Therefore, the MoU provides more confidence and trust to the businesspeople and investors of both countries,” he said. “Cambodia has an open economy. There is no discrimination between local and foreign investors, so Indonesia can look at the Kingdom as an investment destination, particularly in the agricultural sector. 

Source : The Phnom Pehn Post    

09 August 2023

Business merger sub-decree to enter into force next month

The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) issued an announcement to alert businesspeople that the sub-decree on requirements and procedures for business merging that the government approved on March 6, 2023, with the signature affixed by Prime Minister Hun Sen will enter into force on September 6, 2023. The announcement released on Saturday last week by MoC pointed out that the sub-decree sets three main obligations that businesspeople are required to fulfill when they merge or combine their more-than-one businesses into one—prior notice on business merging, post-business merging notice and registration of merged business. “The purpose of the sub-decree is to review, monitor, and evaluate the potential impact on competition resulting from business combinations while preventing any business combination that fail to comply with or may violate applicable regulations,” the announcement pointed out.

Source : Khmer Time   

09 August 2023 

Kingdom collects $2.79 billion in tax revenue in 1H

Cambodia collected 11,497.98 billion riels (approximately $2.79 billion) from all sources of taxes in the first half of 2023, which is equivalent to 49.1 percent of the target ($5,692 million) for the year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s report. The Kingdom has two institutions responsible for collecting taxes. One is the General Department of Taxation (GDT), which focuses on interior taxes such as income tax, salary tax, value-added tax and property tax, and the other is the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), which collects taxes on goods entering and leaving the country. The ministry stated that tax revenue collected by the GDCE amounted to 4,607.65 billion riels (approximately $1.12 billion), representing 41.4 percent of the target set in 2023, a year-on-year decrease of 10 percent.

Source : Khmer Time  

10 August 2023 

Cambodia, Laos regulators to develop capital market

Securities regulators from Cambodia and Laos are joining hands to boost the growth of their capital market as they are relatively small compared to their peers in the region. Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) director-general Sou Socheat and Lao Securities Commission Office (LSCO) secretary-general Fongchinada Sengsourivong signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the cooperation of the securities market on August 10. Fongchinada said the cooperation with SERC is a new move for the development of the market between the two countries in providing information and other technical assistance with the aim of ensuring mutual progress of the market. Meanwhile, SERC’s Socheat said the partnership would strengthen the cooperation in capacity building and information exchange in order to build more trust and solidarity, and ensure progress in the long run for both parties.

Source : The Phnom Penh Post

11 August 2023

New gov’t eyes on achieving 7% economic growth

The new Royal Government of Cambodia in the 7th legislature of the National Assembly which will officially assume office on August 22 will set a macroeconomic target to achieve economic growth at 7 percent in the medium- or long-term strategies, said a senior official. The new government’s commitment to achieving the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of at least 7 percent in the next five or ten years was revealed at a discussion forum at Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh on Wednesday for some development partners to share information on financing tools and procedures for applying for funding as well as understand the financing needs of the private sector in Cambodia for developing the common direct lending framework.

Source :  Khmer Time