1 August 2024 - Market Update - B2B Cambodia

This is a B2B Cambodia Market Update for 1st August, 2024, reviewing the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) and global markets.

Watch the video in English above.

• The Cambodia Securities Exchange Index was slightly up by 0.03 points or 0.01% to 413.93.
  Total trade volume was down – 80,732 shares changed hands at a total value of roughly 370 million Khmer riel or around $90,200 US dollars.
• Only one stock was up on the main board. The Phnom Penh Autonomous Port was up by  0.96% or 140 riel to 14,740 riel per share. Pestech Cambodia was also the only stock down, dropping 1.21% or 30 riel to 2,440 riel per share.
• The rest of the entire main board remained flat.
• On the growth board, both companies were down. DBD Engineering was down 0.48% or 10 riel to 2,080 riel per share, while JS Land was down 0.29% or 10 riel to 3,490 riel per share.
• CAMGSM recorded the highest trade volume of the day with 31,507 shares changing hands at a total value of 75 million riel or 18,350 US dollars, making up around 39% of all shares traded on August 1st. ACLEDA Bank recorded the second highest trade volume of the day with 27,806 shares changing hands at a total value of 208 million riel or $50,750 US dollars, accounting for roughly 34% of Thursday’s trade volume.
• In market news, the Cambodia Securities Exchange has announced the 24th Profile Listing of a Government Bond by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. With an aggregate amount of 10,000 units, the bond has an issue price of 1 million riel per unit, a five year maturity date and a 5% per annum coupon rate.
   
• ACLEDA Bank also published a disclosure notice on the CSX website to inform all stakeholders that as of the end of July 2024, ACLEDA Financial Trust has bought 10.62 million of ACLEDA Bank’s shares on the CSX.
   
• In other business news, the government of Cambodia has announced that a national holiday will be observed this upcoming Monday, August 5, to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony of the Funan Techo Canal. All civil servants, staff, employees and students in Cambodia will receive a paid holiday to commemorate the groundbreaking of this major infrastructure waterway project that will connect the Bassac river in Phnom Penh to the coast in Kep province. Spanning 180 km in length, the canal will pass through the provinces of Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep. The project is expected to cost around 1.7 billion US dollars – with funding primarily from the China Road and Bridge Corporation under a 50-year Build-Operate-Transfer model – and is estimated to take around five to six years to complete.
• The government of Cambodia has announced that a national holiday will be observed on Monday, August 5, 2024, to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony of the Funan Techo Canal.
• All civil servants, staff, employees and students in Cambodia will receive a day off to commemorate the groundbreaking of this major infrastructure waterway project that will connect the Bassac river in Phnom Penh to the coast in Kep province.
• To do so, the 180 kilometre canal will pass through the provinces of Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep. The project is expected to cost around 1.7 billion US dollars – with funding primarily from the China Road and Bridge Corporation under a 50-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model – and is estimated to take around five to six years to complete.
• The Cambodian government has positioned the Funan Techo Canal as a vital project for the country’s aspirations to become a major logistics hub in Southeast Asia, expecting to facilitate smoother trade routes, cut shipping costs by potentially 70 per cent, and generate significant revenue from tolls. Cambodia is also hopeful that the new waterway will help to attract more foreign investment.
   
• The Khmer riel to USD weakened slightly to 4,109 riel per US dollar, while the US dollar index was slightly up to 104.38.
   
• Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session, after the killing of a Hamas leader in Iran raised the threat of a wider Middle East conflict and concern over its impact on oil.
  Global benchmark Brent crude futures rose 78 cents, or 1%, to $81.62 US dollars a barrel.
  Global gold prices reached a two-week high, as the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair hinted at the possibility of cutting interest rates as early as September. This development has influenced gold's trajectory in domestic markets too.
• Spot gold was trading at $2,445.39 US dollars per ounce. This was only $38 dollars below the record high of $2,483.60 US dollars set on July 17th. 
• Meanwhile, US gold futures rose by 0.7% to $2,490.10 US dollars. Stock futures rose in overnight trading Wednesday as investors weighed the latest corporate earnings reports, including strong results from Meta Platforms.
• S&P 500 futures gained 1.58%, while Nasdaq-100 futures jumped nearly 0.9%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 99 points, or 0.24%.

Watch the 1st August, 2024 market update in Khmer below: