The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

UNCDF’s financing models work through three channels: inclusive digital economies, connecting individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy, and provide tools to climb out of poverty and manage financial lives; local development finance, that capacitates localities through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance to drive local economic expansion and sustainable development; and investment finance, that provides catalytic financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization. By strengthening how finance works for poor people at the household, small enterprise, and local infrastructure levels, UNCDF contributes to Sustainable Development Goal-SDG 1 on eradicating poverty and SDG 17 on the means of implementation. By identifying those market segments where innovative financing models can have transformational impact in helping to reach the last mile and address exclusion and inequalities of access, UNCDF contributes to a broad diversity of SDGs.

UNCDF are currently implementing a project “INFF for CSDG achievement” under the UN SDG Fund that is examining and developing blended financing solutions and reforming the policy sphere and legislative base to accelerate the attraction of market and private sector capital to enable the Royal Government of Cambodia to efficiently deliver on their SDG commitments.

As a direct consequence of the global pandemic the RGC is currently implementing a series of broad stimulus policies and public sector investments whilst simultaneously maintaining fiscal discipline. The government is current embarked on an examination of debt and blended financing as a complimentary and potential long-term replace to Official Development Assistance (ODA) finance to support new policy and regulatory reforms. As a supportive consultancy input to the project UNCDF through this consultancy will examine ASEAN +3 transboundary financial products and undertake a comparison of ASEAN countries that are using debt instruments for development from the perspective of instrument performance working in partnership with UNDP to deliver bond issuance and support wider bond market development and further examine the role, functionality and operational efficiency of the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX).

The consultancy aims at providing real time evidence related to assessing the current appetites held in the regions capital markets to providing debt to Cambodia through instruments such as bonds and capital market loans The consultancy will be implemented through a mix of activities to be carried out in Thailand and Cambodia and out-reach research into neighboring capital markets (China and Singapore).

The UNCDF portfolio in ASEAN

Historically UNCDF have designed and implemented local development initiatives in a majority of the ASEAN member states both at national and sub-national levels. In particular, in alignment to its mandate, UNCDF has mainly operated in the Least Developed Countries, of the ASEAN region including (1) Cambodia, (2) Lao PDR, and (3) Myanmar.

In Cambodia, UNCDF has been engaged extensively in the government’s decentralization process through the Ministry of Interior and the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDD) through various initiatives that have developed the inter-governmental fiscal transfer mechanisms that underpin sub national SDG financing through the public sector budget.  

UNCDF is working directly with the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) within the spheres of (i) Public Private Partnerships, (ii) Financial Management and Public Policy and (iii) Macro-Economic Support as a component of this program. UNCDF is working in partnership with UNDP, the World Bank, ADB and other Development Partners in this area of work with MEF.

Objective of the assignment

The main objective of the assignment is to support MEF to examine the potential to secure funding through various transnational financial products to in part finance SDGs and COVID recover. The consultancy will explore regional capital markets; namely Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Singapore in the context of bonds and other debt financing instruments that can be accessed by the RGC. This assignment will also complete a stocktake of existing general obligation and revenue bonds issued by the RGC or any government entities and provide a succinct trend analysis of associated credit ratings. Finally, it will undertake a rapid performance assessment of the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX).

The consultant will specifically work with the MEF, Bank of Cambodia and CSX in partnership with the UNDP country team to provide the following TA support:

1. Generate and implement a dedicated work plan inclusive of milestone deliverables required dialogues based on RGC and Thailand inputs;
2. Organise and implement a stocktaking exercise of current Cambodia issued debt that includes concessional IFI loans, bilateral loans or debt and bonds (general obligation and revenue) including volume of each individual listing, place of issue, credit rating, tenure, coupon repayments and underwriters. This work includes dialogues and exchange of data with MEF, Bank of Cambodia and CSX.
3. Ascertain appetite for Cambodia debt especially in the Thai, China, Singapore and Hong Kong capital markets through dialogise with key market advisors and the associated credit rating agencies;
4. Undertake a rapid performance assessment of CSX applying a 5-year time series analysis in terms of cap, listings and issue of debt securities and highlight performance bottlenecks
5. Develop a ToR for a deeper analysis and policy brief to accelerate the development of the CSX in partnership with the CSX, MEF and Bank of Cambodia

Deliverables

The consultant will deliver the following within the framework of the assignment:

1. A work plan indicating timebound milestone deliverables and list of required meetings and consultation to enable the work to be completed;
2. Stocktaking report of Cambodia RGC and RGC entity issued debt that includes concessional IFI loans, bilateral loans or debt and bonds (general obligation and revenue) including volume of each individual listing, place of issue, credit rating, tenure, coupon repayments and underwriters (maximum 10-page report);
3. An overview of capital market appetites and investor sentiment for Cambodia debt and RGC debt (the two distinct areas will be addressed by a two-section based report that includes a professional opinion and which highlights bottlenecks and investor / capital market concerns for each section (maximum 10-page report).
4. A rapid performance assessment report of CSX applying a 5-year time series analysis in terms of cap, listings and issue of debt securities and highlight performance bottlenecks (maximum 10-page report).
5. Key Deliverables Policy Note (2 pages) for a deeper analysis policy brief and road map to accelerate the development of the CSX in partnership with the CSX. MEF and Bank of Cambodia. (maximum 4-page report detailing; (i) highlighted issues and bottlenecks and (ii) list of key deliverables required to develop a road map and strategy for improving CSX performance.

Provision of Monitoring and Progress Control

The consultant will work under the supervision of the UNCDF Regional Technical Advisor (RTA). The RTA will provide overall direction and guidance of the consultancy and approve key outputs and deliverables.  In addition, the consultant will also coordinate and collaborate with UNDP country office, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Consultancy fees will be paid upon: (i) submission of Certificate of Payment form (ii) review, approval, acceptance of output for each deliverable and (iii) authorization of payment disbursement from Regional Technical Advisor based in Bangkok.

Terms of Payment

The following terms of payment based upon the above-mentioned deliverables will be applicable for this Terms of Reference and associated mission. Payments will be based upon a percentile of the contracted lump sum for each area as tabulated. The payment will only be made up on satisfactory completion and submission of the assignment and deliverables: 

1. Submission of Workplan: 30%

2. (i) Stocktaking report : 25%; (ii) Debt analysis and investment appetities: 25% 

3. (i) CSX rapid performance assessment: 15%; (ii) CSX road mapping TOR: 5%

• Possesses a comprehensive knowledge of the regional bond markets with especial focus on the Thai Bond, Thailand Capital Markets, China Dim Sum and Panda Bonds and Singapore Capital markets from the perspective of government and or corporate debt financing;
• Has the ability to develop and formulate financial analysis of issued debt, debt instruments including bond issues predicting forward risk, macroeconomic influence in terms of attractiveness of debt financing and the cost of capital;
• Has detailed knowledge of current credit ratings systems in the region and CR for RGC, Cambodia Central Bank and CSX listed companies;
• Able to provide in-depth peer reviews of existing debt financing positions;
• Able to develop standardised policy papers (short version) for government consumption in the areas of debt financing, security exchange functionality and regulatory frameworks.
• High quality English language skills;
• Excellence in use of MS Excel financial analysis and graphing tools 

• Minimum Master’s Degree in Finance related area / MBA, required
• Minimum 10 years of professional experience with at least 5 years working within international finance institutions or international commercial banks in Asia, required
• Proven professional track record related to bond markets (primary and secondary)
• Proven track record working with general obligation bond and or revenue bond design and issuances
• Specific knowledge of capital markets consisting of; (i) Thailand, (ii) Chain / Hong Kong, (iii) Singapore
• Proven capacity working with securities exchanges and associated security exchange laws, regulation and practice in the ASEAN +3 region
• Previous work in relevant fields with UNCDF or other UN agencies would be an asset.
• Good communication skills; sensitivity and willingness/flexibility to respond to client’s needs

Evaluation method

Applications will be rated on both technical and financial submissions.  The following selection method will be used:  Highest rated proposal using the combined scoring method, which assigns the weight distribution between the technical and financial proposals.  The weight distribution shall be 70% technical and 30% financial. 

Step I: Longlisting/Shortlisting

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following minimum criteria will be shortlisted:

• Minimum Master’s Degree in Finance related area / MBA, required
• Minimum 10 years of professional experience with at least 5 years working within international finance institutions or international commercial banks in Asia, required

Step II: Technical Review of CVs by Desk Review

UNCDF will conduct a desk review to produce a shortlist of candidates by evaluating the following criteria with the corresponding points (100 points)

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience with at least 5 years working within international finance institutions or international commercial banks in Asia, required (20 points)
• Proven professional track record related to bond markets (primary and secondary) (20 points)
• Proven track record working with general obligation bond and or revenue bond design and issuances (20 points)
• Specific knowledge of capital markets consisting of; (i) Thailand, (ii) Chain / Hong Kong, (iii) Singapore (20 points)
• Proven capacity working with securities exchanges and associated security exchange laws, regulation and practice in the ASEAN +3 region (10 points)
• Previous work in relevant fields with UNCDF or other UN agencies would be an asset. (10 points)
• Only the applicants achieving 70% of the points will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

Step III: Financial Evaluation

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal: Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%.

Application

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Proposers who shall not submit below mentioned documents will not be considered for further evaluation.

• When applying for this consultancy position, please apply with your official name as shown in the government issued identification document (e.g. passport and/or driver license). Contract award is subject to this verification;
• Summary statement of competencies in relation to the TOR
• Curriculum Vitae or Completed P11 Personal History Form with names and current contacts of 3 referees (available from http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc)
• Confirmation of interest and Financial proposal: 

Under section E of the Offerer’s letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contract (IC) Assignment, please choose to indicate “An all-inclusive daily fee”. The form can be accessed through the link below:

https://popp.undp.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/UNDP_POPP_DOCUMENT_LIBRARY/Public/PSU_%20Individual%20Contract_Offerors%20Letter%20to%20UNDP%20Confirming%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx&action=default

• Earliest Availability

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when traveling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org  If the consultant is over 65 years old, UNCDF reserves the right to require full medical certification and clearance from the consultant’s physician prior to commencing the travel.

Both individual consultants and individuals employed by a company or institution are welcome to apply. Any individual employed by a company or institution who would like to submit an offer in response to a Procurement Notice for IC must do so in their individual capacity (providing a CV so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly).  If the company or institution that employs them will charge a management fee, the said amount must be incorporated in the financial proposal that the individual will submit.  No further changes to reflect additional costs shall be accommodated by UNCDF at the point of awarding the LTA.

Please include all documents into one file while submitting your application.

Copyright

All products and reports related to the mission will be provided to UNCDF and be subject to associated copyrights. The contractor will not use, without prior permission of UNCDF, any the materials or data produced during the mission for any other purpose than furnishing UNCDF with a project delivery. Any use or reference to the information contained within the presented mission documents must be prior clarified and approved by UNCDF and clearly reference UNCDF as the source.

Consultant Presence may be required on Duty Station/UNCDF Premise

The entire mission will be conducted in Lao PDR with the consultant working at MoF and UNCDF Country Office and/or NGPAR Office based on agreed workflows.

Other institutional arrangements: 

Any travel required under the assignment needs to be agreed and pre-approved by UNCDF regional technical advisor. All the travel cost will be reimbursed by UNCDF according to UNCDF rules and regulations.

The consultant is expected to own and use his/her own equipment during the assignment.

UNCDF is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

If you are experiencing difficulties with online job applications, please contact uncdf.procurement@uncdf.org

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