Platform to unify online trading
Equity fund takes stake in iCare
ACENTRAL online trading platform expected to launch by the end of the year will allow investors to trade securities listed on the local stock market using a desktop computer or smartphone.
Lamun Soleil, director of market operations at the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), said the bourse is developing a Mobile Trading System (MTS) that will serve as a central web-based platform for local securities firms and their clients. He said brokerages will be charged a fee to use the service, which he claims will be more cost-effective than developing their own online trading platform.
“To save the cost for each securities firm and the market, our MTS is one that can be used by all securities firm,” he said. “They are expected to pay a regular fee, which is much lower than if they each developed their own MTS.”
Subscription to the service is optional, and securities firms are free to develop their own proprietary online trading platforms, he added.
The MTS is being developed with technical assistance from Korea International Cooperation Agency and expected to be operational by the end of the year.
Soleil explained that investors with an account at a local securities firm that subscribes to the service will be able to access their account information and place trade orders on stocks listed on the CSX using a desktop comput- er or via a web browser on a smartphone.
“Investors will have instant access to the market on their smartphone [when] connected to the internet,” he said. “Investors can instantly buy or sell stocks, view real-time market data and listed companies’ information, view their cash and securities balance, and so on.”
Soleil said international stock exchanges were increasingly driven by online trading and many of the region’s bourses, including the Korea Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Thailand, have already implemented MTS platforms. He added that the online platform will help increase the efficiency of the order process and reduce the number of transaction errors made by brokers.
“The processing of orders will be faster and more efficient,” he said. “Brokers will also face less risk related to order submission since investors will place orders by themselves.”
Layheng Sip, head of operations at SBI Royal Securities, said the launch of the MTS will allow investors to execute trades more conveniently than by traditional trading methods.
“Our clients [currently] send purchase or sell orders via email, phone, or at the counter,” she said. “We believe that MTS will benefit the client, market and securities firms. It will help to increase trading volume as clients will find it more convenient to manage trade orders.”
Launched in 2011, the CSX has five listed companies: Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PWSA), Grand Twin International, Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP), Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSP) and Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS). A SINGAPORE-BASED private equity fund manager has acquired a significant minority stake in iCare Benefits (Cambodia) Co Ltd, an employee benefits programme offered to enterprises that operate in the Kingdom.
Emerging Markets Investment Advisers (EMIA) said in a press release that it acquired the stake in iCare’s Cambodia operations last week for an undisclosed amount through its $65 million Cambodia Laos Myanmar Development Fund II (CLMDF II). It said the investment in the firm aims to provide “thousands of workers with access to low-cost instalment finance to purchase essential products and services”.
Joshua Morris, chief executive of EMIA, told The Post yesterday that EMIA’s stake in iCare Cambodia will allow the employeeonly benefits programme to facilitate operations such as data verification, which greatly reduces the inherent risk in traditional consumer finance companies.
“Our investment will support the expansion of [iCare] business operations and expand their services to more companies and their employees across Cambodia,” Morris said.
According to Morris, employees of companies that are members of iCare are eligible to purchase essential products and services that include mobile phones and white goods – such as domestic home appliances like washing machines, refrigerators and rice cookers – as well as motorcycles and bicycles, under a zero percent interest sixmonth instalment programme.
“There are no costs or fees for companies to join iCare Benefits, and no costs for workers to enrol,” he said. “Hence, to companies, it is an employee benefit programme that is aimed at building employee retention for iCare’s partner companies.”
He added that unlike a leasing company that charges fees for individuals or employees of a company, the iCare model is able to secure products at discounted prices through its broad network.
Molika Meas, CEO of iCare Benefits Cambodia, said EMIA’s investment in the firm will be “invaluable” for future expansion in the local market.
“EMIA’s industry experience and broad network of relationships will prove invaluable to us as we grow and expand our operations in the future,” she said.
As for EMIA, Morris said this marks the second investment in Cambodia to date under its $65 million CLMDF II fund, bringing to eight its total investment portfolio in the Kingdom when combined with its first private equity fund, which managed $19 million in capital.