Second corporate bond by LOLC listed on CSX

Cambodia’s second corporate bond issued by microfinance firm LOLC (Cambodia) Plc officially listed in the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) on Friday, after it was completely purchased by institutional investors when the subscription period ended on April 26.

LOLC issued two types of bonds – namely FX-indexed bonds and fixed-coupon bonds – and successfully raised 80 billion riel ($20 million) for the growth of its lending business.

Underwritten by Yuanta Securities, the bonds were subscribed with an interest rate of eight per cent per annum for FX-indexed bonds and nine per cent per annum for fixed-coupon bonds with a maturity date of three years. A total of 800,000 bonds were issued, valued at 100,000 riel per unit.

Yuanta Securities’s research head Sim Dara said on Thursday that demand for both types of bonds were greater than the offering, resulting in an oversubscription.

“There were actually investors who came later after we had already closed the books,” he said.

According to Dara, the investors that purchased the bonds were institutional investors, mostly foreign-owned local banks.

He added that while the bonds will be available for trading on the CSX, active trading like stocks is not expected, as corporate bonds are in general less liquid compared to sovereign bonds.

“Since investors are mainly long-term institutional investors with big investment size, transactions may rarely happen,” he said.

CSX Market Operations Department director Sophanita Kim on Thursday said the second bond listing will provide more confidence to companies who are considering raising funds through the capital market.

While companies have been hesitant to enter the new market, and waiting and observing others, Sophanita said the success of the second bond issuance and many IPOs will help provide a boost of confidence for other firms.

“Many companies – especially financial institutions – are now trying to issue bonds in the capital market to enjoy the tax incentives granted by the government. I recommend other companies who haven’t thought of it to do it now and grasp these huge advantages,” she said.

“For long-term growth, they should consider issuing equity other than debt.”

Source: Phnom Penh Post | 10 May 2019 | Author: Hor Kimsay

S’ville Port to Undergo $80 Million Expansion

Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP) will undergo expansion works in an effort to increase the dock’s shipping capacity, officials say.

Construction on a new 3-hectare cargo terminal, funded by the Japanese government via an $80 million loan, is set to commence later this year or early next year and be completed by 2017, Chea Sambath chief of Planning at SAP said.

“The port plays a major role in exporting our products and we need to expand our capacity quickly to cater the predicted rise of cargo,” he said.

Cargo exports through SAP rose to more than 129,000 shipping containers over the first nine months of the year, up 18 per cent from 109,000 during the same period in 2013. Imports meanwhile rose some 12.4 per cent during the same period.

SAP currently has a cargo capacity of 500,000 containers spread over 124 hectares.

Officials at the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port last week confirmed its plans to expand its cargo terminal by either securing a loan from the Chinese government or raising funds through an initial public offering on the Cambodian Stock Exchange.

Sambath similarly said the state-owned SAP would consider listing on the bourse to raise funds for the expansion.

Source: Phnom Penh Post | October 28, 2014 | By: May Kunmakara

CSX To Increase Trade Times

The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), the recently established bourse with a single player, will increase the number of trade executions from twice to six times a day, a move that will take effect on March 11.

A CSX officer and the managing director of a securities firm said the move is an effort to bring greater opportunity to investors and improve liquidity.

The announcement, made yesterday, says the bourse currently opens at 8am, with the first execution starting at 9am and the second at 11:30am. The new timetable will see the exchange opening at 8am with the first execution at 9am as before, but the second execution will start at 9:30am, the third at 10 am, the fourth at 10:30am, the fifth at 11am and the sixth at 11:30am.

“This amendment of the rules [or market operations change] marks a noticeable step in the development of the Cambodian securities market from a simple model to a more sophisticated one better able to respond to the needs of public investors,” Soleil Lamun, deputy-director for the Market Operations Department of CSX, said.

“The increase in the number of execution times will provide investors with more opportunities to buy or sell without having to wait a long time for the next execution. The new situation means investors will only have to wait 30 minutes,” he said.

“Since it provides investors with more opportunities to trade, it would attract greater order-placement on the CSX, and thus market liquidity would increase.

“For the time being, our market is open as an intermittently executing market. Our mission, however, is to move from single price auctions to the continuous-auction market. The increase in the number of execution times will be a good start for investors to practise a more frequent trading execution as preparation for a continuous market planned to launch in the next few years,” he said.

Han Kyung Tae, managing director of Tong Yang Securities (Cambodia) PLC, an underwriter for two state-owned enterprises, Phnom Penh Water Supply and Telecom Cambodia, said that by allowing greater opportunity for investors to join the market, the move will be a very positive one.

“CSX is providing more opportunities for investors to invest in the market. It is good news not only for investors but also for securities firms like us,” he said. “This move will also provide more liquidity into the market, and therefore it allows more time for investors to make decisions. And the trading volume will increase − that’s really positive.”

CSX is a joint venture between the Cambodian government and the Korea Exchange. It officially launched in April of last year with one state-owned enterprise, Phnom Penh Water Supply, listed. Two other state-owned enterprises are expected to join sometime this year.

The Post reported earlier this month that Taiwanese-owned Grand Twins International (Cambodia) PLC will become the first private company to list on the CSX in March, offering 12 million shares.

Phnom Penh Water Supply’s price closed at 6,600 riel yesterday, a 0.75 per cent drop from the previous day, with a total trade volume of 16,248 shares.

Source: Phnom Penh Post (February 28, 2013)