Cambodia Plans to Set Up Stock Market by 2009 in Effort to Expand Its Economy

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP)

Thursday, September 6, 2007

The Cambodian government Thursday announced plans to set up a stock market in the next two years in an effort to mobilize capital as part of an effort to expand its economy.

"The national economic development will not be sustainable and cannot reach its growth potential without effective contributions from the financial sector," Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech.

Hun Sen said that stock market -- partially funded by $1.8 million in aid from South Korea -- is "a new option of financing the national economy" because it could serve as a mechanism to mobilize capital for investment in the country.

The Cambodian economy has been one of the fastest growing in Asia, expanding at 11.4 percent in each of the past three years. However, its development has been heavily reliant on hundreds of millions of dollars (euros) in international aid.

Foreign donors have also urged Cambodia to diversify its economic structure, which has largely been based on the textile industry. Last year, garment exports were worth $2.6 billion and accounted for nearly 80 percent of Cambodia's total exports.

Annual foreign aid and limited foreign direct investment are "still not sufficient to fulfill enormous capital demand of the Cambodian capital-hungry economy for investment in all sectors," Hun Sen said.

To help ready the country for a stock market, Cambodia is also planning to introduce a series of measures aimed at reforming it securities sector.

Finance Minister Keat Chhon said the National Assembly will soon begin discussion on a securities market draft bill, one of several laws the government is considering to successfully establish a securities market.

Also last month, the government began requiring some 400 enterprises to submit their financial statements to independent auditors by December this year.

 Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070906/cambodia_stock_market.html?.v=1&printer=1