That’s right. Cambodia’s plans for opening its own stock exchange are moving ahead rapidly. Even those primed to invest in the new market were surprised by the announcement of a late 2009 openning. The Phnom Penh Post reports.
Some enthusiastic CEOs quietly harboring dreams of expansion for their firms said this week the late-2009 stock market launch is coming sooner than expected. But the lure of new capital for cash-poor Cambodian businesses is just what the economy needs, they said. And they’ll be ready.
Right now, it seems that the exchange will be building on the country’s successful oil, construction, and lending industries. The big players will probably earn some initial success and perhaps inspire other corporations to go public.
The exchange is actually a joint venture with The Korean Exchange. Cambodia holds a 51% share.
The main opposition to the stock exchange came from Party leader Sam Rainsy who said he was concerned that a lack of transparency and an overall high level of corruption in Cambodia would lead to a corrupt stock market.
Mr. Rainsy has a point. However, how can you argue with such a major move forward.
Twenty-eight years after the Khmer Rouge fled from the seat of power in Phnom Penh, Nuon Chean, formerly a top lieutenant of Pol Pot has been arrested. This is major news for those who have spent years waiting for justice. For many, though, it is too little too late. Nuon Chean is already 82 and had been living freely in Cambodia prior to his arrest by officials from the genocide tribunal. Old age has claimed most of the K.R.’s hierarchy, including Pol Pot, before justice could be served.