Establish Cambodia stock exchange in 2009?

“Cambodia has signed agreement with South Korea together in order to cooperate to establish Stock exchange in Cambodia”

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) — Cambodian Finance Minister KeatChhon has announced that the Kingdom will move forward with plans to establish a stock exchange in 2009 despite concerns over the global market crisis and suggestions that it would be delayed until 2010, national media reported Friday.

“We will not rush to establish the stock exchange in Cambodia, but we will build a strong base, including hard and soft infrastructure,” Keat Chhon was quoted as saying in the Phnom PenhPost.

The country is in the process of finalizing securities rules and the exchange building has broken ground, he said.

He added that the Council of Ministers has begun drafting subdecrees to implement new laws about an initial public offering.

“The establishment of a stock market will help Cambodia develop additional sources of finance currently buried in various places, and it will boost economic growth,” Keat Chhon said.

Hang Chuon Naron, secretary general of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said the stock market will progress according to the government’s long-term financial vision for the country and is not vulnerable to the global crisis.

“We hope the stock exchange will provide longer-term finance compared to what we have relied on in the past, such as banks, national budgets, foreign aid and foreign investment,” Hang Chuon Naron told the Post.

“I think in five or ten years, the stock exchange will play a key role in strengthening Cambodia’s financial sector, but we must proceed carefully to build trust from our people and investors,” he said. Source: Xinhuanet News