Follow-up IPOs still on track

Follow-up IPOs still on track

Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, one of two state-owned companies slated to list on the Cambodia Securities Exchange this year, yesterday called the price decline in the country’s first publicly traded company worrisome.

The eight-day slide in price that neared Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority’s initial public offering value before climbing more than 4 per cent yesterday, however, would not affect the port’s plans to list, Director General Lou Kim Chhun said.

“We were a bit concerned [by the decline]. But I do believe the government will carefully manage the issue,” Lou Kim Chhun said. “I didn’t think of delaying the IPO even with the decline in PPWSA’s share price. What I am thinking now is to speed it up as fast as we can to follow the government’s request.”

He added that the company still planned to float shares worth 15 per cent of total assets sometime in July.

With 879,426 shares traded on its opening day, PPWSA climbed from an IPO price of 6,300 (US$1.57) to $2.53 two days later, before falling for eight days. Analysts yesterday said the price was stablising.

Telecom Cambodia (TC) director general Lao Saroeun yesterday said PPWSA’s initial decline had caused no concern at the company, which also plans to list this year.

“This is a normal increase and decrease which depends on the market. We follow the government’s decision on everything,” he said. The state-owned company has not set a timeframe for listing, but TC shares could be on the market this year, he said.

Lao Saroeun,Telecom Cambodia director general, raised no concern over the decline.

"That’s business which is normally increase and decrease depending on the market,” he said.

However, he said that the company has not set the timeframe to be listed yet. “Everything, we follow the government [Ministry of Economy and Finance’s] decision.”

But, he said that it will be possibly sometime this year.

Foreign Trade Bank, which expressed interest in listing late last month, declined to comment on PPWSA’s performance, and whether it had affected the bank’s decision to list.

Ming Bankosal, director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, told the Post yesterday that PPWSA’s decline would not affect the listing of the two remaining state-own-companies.

“The [decline] was mainly based on supply and demand in the market. It is normal. I don’t think it will affect the two other state-owned companies,” he said. “What they should do is take the money from IPO and invest it back into the company to improve businesses.”

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