Cellcard head office in Phnom Penh. Heng Chivoan
Listed local telecom provider CamGSM Plc (ticker: CGSM) has received preliminary approval from the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) for a sustainable bond listing eligibility review. This follows its equity securities listing in June, making it the second firm to seek a corporate bond listing on the bourse this year.
The CSX confirmed on September 28 that CamGSM had secured this approval in principle. Before its securities can be officially traded on the bourse, the firm must gain offering approval from the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) and fulfil additional CSX listing criteria.
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Hong Sok Hour, CEO of CSX, told The Post on October 2 that CamGSM is planning to issue a corporate green bond targeting institutional investors.
“We encourage listed companies to issue corporate bonds, as the listing procedure is streamlined for them. Many institutional investors, including insurance firms, favour corporate bonds due to their stable, high interest rates,” he said, adding that he expects the bond issue could be completed this month or the next, given the company’s recent securities issuance.
Despite a downturn in economic activities, CamGSM showed strong financial results for Q2 ending June 30. The company posted a 9.9 per cent increase in net profit, amounting to 45.8 billion riel ($11.2 million), compared to 41.7 billion riel ($10.2 million) the previous year. As stated in their September 19 filing, revenue reached nearly 186 billion riel ($45.4 million) in Q2. After going public on June 27 with 9.3 million shares listed on CSX at 2,270 riel per share, they generated gross proceeds of $5.3 million.
The company’s total assets stood at 2.6 trillion riel ($637.42 million) as of June 30. Their total equity was approximately 877.8 billion riel ($241 million), marking a 14.2 per cent increase from 768.3 billion riel ($187.4 million) in Q2-2022.
Kith Meng, chairman of CamGSM, acknowledged a 3.2 per cent annual decline in the company’s total revenue, from 192.2 billion riel in Q2-2022. However, he highlighted the rise in net profit compared to the same period last year and maintained that the firm’s financial status was robust, with growing assets and equity.
“This year has been challenging,” he said. “[We] partnered with the 32nd SEA Games and 12th Para Games, while also preparing for the initial public offering (IPO). Throughout, we stayed committed to market relevance, ensuring our subscribers received exceptional daily service. We also expanded and improved our network, gaining recognition from OpenSignal for the ‘Best Download Speed Experience Award’ in August and from OOKLA for the ‘Fastest Mobile Network’ in Q1-Q2.”
