Cambodia's Securities Market will contribute boost economic growth

Cambodian economic growth needs the contribution from securities markets in a must to speed up the development of the country, and helps the poverty reduction of the local people, collects financial flow from the different corners to invest the main factors to push economic development, the officials said here on March 11.

“To boost the economic growth of the country, the government urged the private sector to contribute to invest more to provide the benefits to poor, create jobs to contribute to reduce the poverty in the country,” said H.E. Son Koun Thor, chairman and chief executive officer of Rural Development Bank of Cambodia and vice –chairman of the supreme national economic council (SNEC).

“To develop the economic sector, we need the capitals from all corners to contribute to the economic growth, He said, adding that at the same time, the government also has build the rural infrastructures to hand over the direct benefits to local people to reduce the poverty,” he told the students of the University of Cambodia in Phnom Penh in the topic of macro-economics and securities market.

He highlighted that the government set up the policy to reduce poverty with one percent for one year. In 1990s, we have about 50 per cent of our population living in poverty line but now it is about 30 per cent of poverty and their income per capital also increased to 638US dollars in 2009 but people living in Malai Village in Banteay Mean Chey province, Their income increased to 1,200 US dollar this year after the price of agricultural product cost highly and harvested in good shape,” He noted.

“Our foreign direct investment in the country in 2009, we got 2,900 Million US dollars. Tourism sector collected about 2.2 million tourists increasing about 1.7 per cent only even the financial crisis hit it. In 2009, the deposit money in all commercial banks totally has 3,000 million US dollars increasing over ten times if comparing with last year, he said, adding that but they could use about 1,000 million US dollars in financial development and over 2,000 million US dollars could not be used for business performance because the money deposited banks with limited time and the banks could transfer on time for their customer while drawing.

“Therefore, we need the stock exchange markets to contribute to economic development,” he said, adding that the government also reformed the public financial system of the country in aiming at attracting the investors and strengthen our financial system to be firm and confidence from the publics.

Moreover, we also promote the gender equity to provide the change to the women to develop themselves,” he said, adding that the women are a key factor of force labor in the country to contribute to helping the families. “Through the government also expanded the construction of the school in the local community that allowed the girls could access to education system in developing their knowledge and capacities,” he stresses. The government has helped train the 45,000 women garment workers with new skills through vocational training after they lay off from factory.

He said that the economic growth of the country boomed over 10 per cent in the past year but it decreased during the global economic crisis that affected on the garment industry, tourism, and construction. “But our agricultural sector is still potential for the country and it could contribute to helping the economic growth, He said, a ding that rice product this year we achieved with over 7 million tons of un-milled rice product, and we have the amount of surplus of over three million tons of rice products. It could export to international markets but at the same time, we have lack of the technique for milling the rice product because our rice millers produced a lot of the broken milled rice. The government also provided 18 million US for my bank to buy un-milled rice product for export, he said, adding that we only promoting the rice product but other agricultural products to help our farmers.

In addition, Okhna Son Sokhna, vice chairman of Chamber of Professional Micro- Enterprise of Cambodia said in the event that securities market in Cambodia will happen when all stakeholders for the stock exchange are ready to start its process. The stock exchange could be opened this year and the government also strictly worked on this stock because it does not want to see the stock process and then collapsed. “The government is careful with all mechanisms for this stock to avoid the any risk from it, He said, adding that we need the broker companies and dealers, and registered the licensing of those companies for its operational business. According to the previous report, Cambodian Telecom –state company, Autonomous Preah Sihnaouk sea port, Electricity authority of Cambodia are likely to list for the stock.
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