CSX is in its infancy. It officially opened in April 2012 and currently has one (yes...one) public stock - Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PWSA). Although, several more are going public soon.
With the economic boom going on in Cambodia, and the relative low financial risk of starting an investment portfolio in Cambodia, we decided to get ourselves in a position to invest in Cambodia.
We spent approximately 4 hours over a 2 day period, walking away with almost all the necessary accounts and documents to be able to start trading at CSX. We are still pending the Investor ID, issued by the Cambodian SEC and takes approximately 2 weeks to process. We expect to be up and running by December.
CSX TOUR
At this time, there really is no official tour of the CSX offices on the 25th floor of the Canadia Tower in Phnom Penh. However, it is a quiet office with a helpful receptionist who is willing to walk you around the offices for a lovely panoramic view of the city and the official Trading Room - a room of cubicles and computers, ticker board, and very little human activity...for now. Don't even look for a trading bell, although there is a Cambodian bull statue!
CSX provides a list of participating brokerage firms to start a trading account.
TRADING ACCOUNT
For convenience sake, we decided to visit the brokerage firm of Cana Securities, Ltd. located on the 15th floor of the same Canadia Tower. We received information on the required process for opening an trading account.
This includes:
- Completion of an Investor ID application form. A requirement to start a brokerage account.
- Passport
- Cambodia visa
- Two 4x6 cm photos (we went to Fuji Photo Store about 2 blocks south on the right side of Monivong Boulevard (past a hotel and a supermarket). A very professional outfit that charged $1 for a 4-pack of photos. Pick-up the following day).
- Curriculum Vitae or Resume with employment and education history
- A Cambodian address and telephone number
- USD$5 processing fee
- Local bank account in Cambodian Riel currency. It is not possible to deposit money directly into the brokerage account from a foreign bank.
Under normal circumstances, after collecting the required documentation and turning in the application form, the firm would call us back in approximately 2 weeks when our Investor ID has been processed to finalize the application process. Typically, the SEC requires the applicant present themselves in person to sign the final paperwork. After explaining to the broker that we are leaving in 2 days and will not be returning to complete the process, he treated this application as special circumstance and obtained all the necessary signatures in one visit, prior to approval of an Investor ID. There were plenty of signatures and thumb prints to complete under notary. They were very meticulous about the signatures matching exactly throughout the document.
Not knowing what was required, we didn't bring all the paperwork and photos on the first day, nor did we have a local bank account set-up yet, so we had to return on day 2 to complete the application.
However, even before that, our first priority was to establish a local bank account where we could transfer money from the States into an account in the Cambodian currency, Riel. This is the only way to get money into our brokerage account for trading.
BANK ACCOUNT
We opened two bank accounts (USD account and Cambodian Riel account) at the Canadia Bank downstairs in the same building.
We were directed to the "Cash Settlement" office on the second floor.
The items required to open an account include:
- Passport
- Cambodia visa
- A Cambodian address
- Home banking account information and ABA number for wire transfers of money
- Securities firm information for wire transfer of money
- $5 for application to open an account
- Minimum $10 starting balance per account
We opened 2 accounts: The Riel account was mandatory for transferring money to the trading account. The US Dollar one was optional.
After multiple signatures (almost as bad as signing mortgage papers!) we were handed our official account books!
"OLD-SCHOOL" TRANSACTIONS
For now, any communication, transferring of money, and buying/selling of stocks will have to occur via good ol' email or phone. These banks do not have online banking yet. They say, "soon".
That's all folks!
