PHNOM PENH:A government announcement of plans to establish an inter-ministerial working group to draft legislation that will manage virtual/digital assets in the Kingdom is a positive step, noted Economics professor Duch Darin. He believed the move aligns with the need to regulate the Kingdom’s growing digital sector.
A decision signed by Prime Minister Hun Manet on July 8, and made public on August 10, announced the formation of the “Inter-Ministerial Working Group Responsible for Preparing and Drafting the Law on the Management of Virtual Assets/Digital Assets and Related Legal Instruments”. The group will comprise 26 members, with a secretary of state of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and a deputy governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) serving as co-chairs.
The group will study the relevant laws and regulations, as well as current domestic and international experiences and best practices. It will also arrange meetings, exchanges and study tours of organisations that currently work in related fields.
It will also be responsible for organising regular internal meetings to discuss the progress of the draft, as well as arranging consultation meetings with relevant partners and inviting the submission of recommendations.
The group’s goal is to ensure the resulting legislation is coherent, comprehensive, acceptable to all stakeholders and can be implemented effectively, noted the decision.
Darin, a former economics professor in the US, expressed optimism that the working group could have a positive impact on the development of digital forms of currency in Cambodia.
“I understand virtual assets/digital assets to refer to assets that have value and are created, stored or transferred through digital systems, and which may have economic value and can be bought, sold or transferred to other people in various countries. In practice, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are digital assets that circulate globally,” he told The Post on August 11.
“For Cambodia, I believe the establishment of the working group is very important because it will define the assets, identify service providers, establish mechanisms for investor protection, and set out the rights and obligations of digital asset users.
“I think the working group must clearly determine which types of crypto assets are permitted and subject to regulation, and should introduce consumer protection measures. It should also study and draw on best practices from other countries for the regulation of virtual assets/digital assets,” he added.
On August 6, the NBC issued a notice on the “Notification Obligations of Business Owners Issuing Electronic Money (E-Wallet Accounts) for Payments for Products or Services within a Single Network”.
A key provision of the notice requires companies which are not registered as banking and financial institutions, or payment service providers, that issue e-wallets for payments for their own products or services to notify the NBC before conducting transactions.- Phnom Penh Post /ANN
