Efforts to promote Asean asset classes stepped up

The Securities and Exchange Commission and other capital market regulators in the region have stepped up efforts to promote Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nation) asset classes following the creation of the 10-member regional economic bloc.

The Asean Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) recently held its 25th meeting in Jakarta, hosted by the Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan). In that meeting, members of the ACMF hailed MSCI’s initiative to develop dedicated Asean indexes to generate greater visibility of Asean asset classes.

The ACMF also agreed to introduce an annual Asean Capital Market Conference as a forum for discussion of opportunities in Asean capital markets and to showcase Asean asset classes. The ACMF will work with dialogue partners and key industry participants to launch the inaugural conference in the first half of 2017.

During the meeting, the ACMF members noted the progress of the implementation of the ACMF Action Plan 2016-2020 that would support the objectives of the Asean Economic Community.

A key initiative in the action plan is the plan to foster greater mobility of professionals within the region. In response to the strong positive feedback received from market participants, the ACMF approved the establishment of a working group on professional mobility that will introduce rules to govern cross-border movement of capital market professionals on a staggered basis.

Given the ACMF’s continued emphasis on capacity-building, the meeting endorsed the capacity building plan developed jointly by the ACMF and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). To jumpstart this plan, a regulatory program on developing domestic bond markets tailored specifically for members from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Burma (Myanmar) and Vietnam —countries that are transitioning from centrally-planned to more open economies—will be rolled out in September and hosted by the SEC Cambodia.

The ACMF also commended the start of the Asean “Young Regulators of Program” launched early this year with the secondment of young regulators from SEC Cambodia to the Securities Commission Malaysia.

The ACMF acknowledged the progress of the holistic review of the “Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard” and assessment methodology spearheaded by SEC Philippines.

In addition, the meeting reiterated the importance of corporate governance as a key component of the ACMF’s efforts in promoting Asean listed firms as investible assets.

To date, 14 funds have been recognized as Asean Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) under the Asean CIS Framework, with five funds having been successfully offered. The meeting noted the on-going work led by SEC Thailand to further enhance the framework by expanding the number of signatories, harmonizing disclosure standards, as well as relaxing investment restrictions.