CSX trading takes 17% plunge in first quarter
CSX trading takes 17% plunge in first quarter
Trade volume at the nascent Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) in the first quarter of this year was down 17 per cent on 2019’s fourth quarter, said the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia’s (SECC’s) latest Securities Trading Statistical Bulletin.The first quarter saw 560,479 shares traded, worth $974,300. This was down 33 per cent in value from the 678,008 shares traded in 2019’s fourth quarter.
Average daily trading volume during the quarter was 9,040 shares, worth $15,700.
The CSX index also dipped 22 per cent from 761.73 points at the end of the fourth quarter of last year to 590.63 points in the first quarter of this year.
CSX CEO Hong Sok Hour said: “The stock market has taken a little hit from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to a drop in trading and prices. However, what we can do now is transform the impact of the pandemic into an opportunity to identify ways to improve business performance.
“We’ve noted that trading transactions have been on the rise from early April and I hope that with the participation from our newest partner Acleda Bank Plc, we’ll be able to attract more investors to the stock market.
“Were it not for the ongoing health crisis, we’d have seen far more investors on the stock market due to Acleda Bank’s presence,” he said.
Broken down between the five stock-listed firms, state utility Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) accounted for 31 per cent of trade volume in the first quarter and Taiwan-based garment manufacturer Grand Twins International (Cambodia) Plc (GTI) seven per cent.
Meanwhile, leading industrial zone developer and operator Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone Plc (PPSP) accounted for 33 per cent.
State port operators Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) and Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) accounted for 13 and 16 per cent, respectively.
Sok Hour remains cautiously optimistic that trading activity on the CSX would gain momentum in the upcoming months as more companies become involved in the stock market.
“Despite this year’s global uncertainties, we hope that the capital market will become a potential investment tool for investors as it is in neighbouring countries.
“The market is a vehicle to raise funds to grow local companies, provide plentiful revenue for the people and buoy economic growth,” he said.
On Monday, Sok Hour said that, as of May 25, there are 12 listed firms in the Kingdom – six stock-listed and six corporate bond-listed. The 12 companies have raised a combined $240 million and the stock index increased more than 57 per cent last year over 2018.
He added that to date, more than 25,000 individuals and companies have opened trading accounts at CSX.
