Cambodia Securities and Exchange Commission (SECC) signed an agreement with the Australian government to enable Cambodia to diversify financing for infrastructure.
The agreement is titled: “Domestic Capital
Mobilisation for Infrastructure Investment through the Security market
Project”.
It will be funded through Australia’s AU$50
million ($36 million) “Technical Assistance Project on Domestic Capital
Mobilisation through Securities Market for Infrastructure Investment with
Investing in Infrastructure”, called “3i Cambodia”.
3i is an organisation investing in
infrastructure and comprised of engineers and financial experts managed by the
Palladium Group on behalf of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade.
Australia Ambassador to Cambodia Pablo Kang and
3i management met on Wednesday with SECC director-general Sou Socheat.
“This signing ceremony was organized to have a
clear cooperation-mechanism between 3i and SECC in terms of advising on
policies, regulations and other mechanisms necessary for the development of the
bond market.
“Advice in the form of market consultations and
fruitful input was also provided to contribute to the improvement of capital
mobilisation from the private sector through the launch of new products for
infrastructure investment in Cambodia,” according to a SECC press lease.
The Australian Embassy wrote in its release
that an effective domestic capital market will enable Cambodia to diversify
financing for infrastructure, providing more flexibility to respond to Covid-19
economic recovery efforts.
“We will work closely with the SECC to
facilitate the creation of conditions for a vibrant long-term capital market
that supports Cambodia’s infrastructure development,” Kang said in the release.
This includes providing technical assistance to
develop a regulatory framework for long-term debt and building the capacity of
market participants to give the private sector in Cambodia more tools to invest
in infrastructure. The technical assistance will also identify one
infrastructure project to pilot, according to the release.
“Australia is committed to assisting Cambodia
to diversify its sources of infrastructure investment, as we believe this is
critical for inclusive and resilient economic growth.