The Role of Securities Regulators in Efficient Supervision and Regulations of the Securities Market in Cambodia

Abstract

This dissertation examines the role of regulators in the efficient supervision and regulation of the development and growth of the securities market in Cambodia. It adopts a mixed-method approach to assess the role that regulators have played in Cambodia’s securities market. To ensure the consistency and reliability of the collected dataset, a diagnostic check was carried out. Cronbach’s alpha values for all variables were very high, far exceeding the widely used 0.7 cut-off. Therefore, these constructs and attributes are deemed to have high reliability.

To empirically investigate the effects of the role of regulators on the growth of the securities market in Cambodia, multiple regression analysis was performed to show how each factor—especially the role of regulators, the variable of primary interest in this dissertation—affects securities market growth in Cambodia. Important diagnostic tests were conducted to avoid reporting spurious results.

Based on the estimation results, three of the eight factors—namely, prospects for the stock market, the role of regulators, and regulations related to issuing securities—were found to be statistically significant. Interestingly, the role of regulators was significant at the less than 5% level, providing strong evidence that it influences the growth of the securities market in Cambodia. Similarly, the "prospects for the securities market" was found to be the largest contributor to its growth. However, "regulations related to issuing securities" were negatively related to securities market growth.

The findings of this dissertation offer valuable public policy implications that are highly relevant for developing and emerging economies.