Cambodia to Start Stock Exchange, Aiming for December Opening

July 11 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea's stock exchange and Cambodia have formed a joint venture that is aiming to open a stock market in the Southeast Asian country in December.

The Cambodian government will hold a 55 percent stake in Cambodia Securities Exchange Co., while Korea Exchange Inc. will own the remainder, the South Korean bourse operator said in an e-mailed statement today.

The Korean company will provide information-technology systems in return for the stake, while Cambodia will offer the site and building for the bourse, today's statement said. The venture's board will be comprised of four people from Cambodia and three from Korea Exchange, the statement said.

Korea Exchange this year also helped Laos, Southeast Asia's smallest economy, open its stock market. The Lao Securities Exchange is 51 percent owned by the Laotian government and 49 percent held by Korea Exchange.

--Editors: Darren Boey, Matthew Oakley

Legend is Cambodian multiplex first,title of my study

Mon, 11 July 2011
By Patrick Frater

Exhibition News

The first multiplex cinema in Cambodia opened this week with screenings of Transformers: Dark of the Moon – and a few surprising teething problems.

The Legend Cinema is a three screen multiplex, built in capital city Phnom Penh's City Mall, and owned by the Westec Media Ltd.

The complex, which was reportedly built at a cost of $1.5 million, includes 800 seats and has one theatre equipped with Dolby 3-D systems. Tickets are priced at $4 as standard rising to $6 for VIP seats in the regular halls, and $6 rising to $8 in the 3-D theatre.

Westec Media is a joint venture between Cambodian firm Westec Corporation, which has interests in schools, universities and security services, and Malaysia's Beep Media, which provides security services in the movie industry, event management in the games industry, and training and technology services.

Westec Media says it is the only company licensed and endorsed by the Ministry of Culture in Cambodia for the distribution of foreign content. In May it signed a deal with 20th Century Fox, providing it with X-Men: First Class and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It followed that with a 12-film deal with United International Pictures, spanning upcoming 2011 titles and some catch-up movies including Thor and The Last Airbender.

Commercial operations got underway a week later than previously announced on Thursday 7 July after delays blamed on equipment supplies from overseas.

The lack of a cinema-going habit means that the Legend's management has to spell out basic etiquette including getting to cinema ahead of the advertised screening time, not taking off shoes and not eating food in a noisy fashion.

One problem they did not anticipate was the high level of breakages of the 3-D glasses. Damages were so high on the first day that on Friday it was announced that the $30 Dolby glasses would be ditched in favour of a cheaper Chinese-made model, though they soon relented and are persevering with the Dolby glasses.

Though Legend is not Cambodia's only cinema showing imported films, the smaller Flicks Community Movie House, owned by Hong Kong's Ramon Stoppelenburg Enterprises, operates with a menu of independent and studio fare. Currently showing are titles including Arthur, Insidious, Limitless, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and The Stoning of Soraya M.

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