Cambodia debated draft regulations for securities market

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC) recently put the draft Prakas on accreditation of securities registrar, transfer agent and paying Agent for public consultation in a move to allow all stakeholders, development partners and private sector participating to provide ideas in building effective regulations for securities market in future in the country.

H.E. Ming Bankosal, director General of SECC said in the opening remark that the meeting today we want to have input elements for constructing good and effective regulations for the securities market in the country. Therefore we need to know ideas from all sides which will make business in this market and had experience in doing business with this market in order to contribute their expertise for this regulation.

“This regulation focused on three main factors including securities registrar, transfer agent, and paying agent in the process of securities market, he told the meeting. He added each person who works in the three sectors need to have clean and good background and this regulation provided some conditions for them. They have never had bankruptcy or have never led a company leading to bankruptcy in the last five years in the day of applying for making business. And that person also shall not involve in or commit any bad acts on the process of securities markets and financial sector and have never committed any wrong acts against public order. The participants asked the SECC side to consider and give clear definition of “bad acts of public order” because it is a sensitive case for the businesspeople who aim to apply for these agents and they could lose their rights for making business. “We need good qualified person for this securities market, therefore we need this point, he added.

According to the parkas, each individual who applies as securities registrar need to have minimum capital of 50,000 US dollars, and securities transfer agent for minimum capital 50,000 US dollars, and paying agent with minimum capital of 125,000 US dollar and at the same time, each agent needs to deposit 10 per cent of the minimum capital at the National Bank of Cambodia. In a necessary case, the deposit could withdraw from NCB for making business unless it agreed from the SECCC in advance.

Mr. Chan Narith, director of securities market supervision department of SECC said that all three entities are agents of securities issuer and according to Prakas on public issuance of equities securities. The issuer shall designate all of these three agents, he said, adding that securities registrar in the IPO (Initial Public Offering) process gives subscription forms to subscriber; through securities firms and it need to register all subscription done through securities firms by checking corresponding amount to the subscribed securities. And at the same time they need to verify the subscription on securities and money, and balloting and need to report to issuer and generally securities agent is in the process of primary market. For securities transfer agent have role of record of depository (file of securities holder) and provide updated securities holder book as requested to issuer, and give notification of corporate action to investors, and as central depository. For paying agent, it needs to get the updated securities holder book from transfer agent, and paying agent calculated the paying amount on dividend, interest or principle. And securities transfer agent and paying agent are in the process of secondary market. All the three entities need to recognize from the SECC for processing their business, the parkas said.


The draft Prakas has 8 chapters and 35 articles. It also mentioned about conditions, and legal procedures of each individual that work as securities registrar, securities transfer agent and paying agent and their duties to protect the benefits of each securities holder through these services to guarantee the rights of the securities holder and each securities holder will receive the rights and ownership on securities from securities issuers that invested and also need to provide the other main involved information of security markets.
The Prakas also said that any person who want to be securities registrar, securities transfer agent, and paying agent could be the recognized- commercial banks from the NBC, and other securities company, bond corporate or any businesspeople who used to make business in these securities sector for at least three years.
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