ASEAN Regulators Implement Cross Border Securities Offering Standards

1 April 2013... The ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) announced today that the securities regulators in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have implemented the ASEAN Disclosure Standards Scheme (Scheme) for multi - jurisdiction offerings of equity and plain debt securities in ASEAN. 

 

The Scheme aims to facilitate fund raising activities as well as to enhance the investment opportunities with in ASEAN capital markets.

 

Issuers offering equity and plain debt securities in multiple jurisdictions within ASEAN will only need to comply with one single set of disclosure standards for prospectuses, known as the ASEAN Disclosure Standards , bringing about greater efficiency and cost savings to issuers. 

 

The Scheme operates on an opt-in basis and ASEAN members will adopt the Scheme as and when they are ready to do so. Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are the first three ASEAN jurisdictions to implement the Scheme.

 

The Scheme replaces the ASEAN and Plus Standards Scheme that was announced on 12 June 2009 and is one of the capital market initiatives undertaken by the ACMF as part of the regional capital market integration plan endorsed by the ASEAN Finance Ministers in April

2009 in Pattaya, Thailand. 

 

Mr. Lee Chuan Teck, Chairman of the ACMF and Assistant Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said “The implementation of the Scheme is another significant achievement in the ACMF’s continuing efforts to foster ASEAN capital market integration. With the Scheme in place, issuers will only need to prepare one set of prospectus for a multi-jurisdiction offering in the region. The ACMF hopes that this will encourage more companies to offer securities across ASEAN and help promote ASEAN as integrated capital market for fund-raising.”

 

“The initiative represents a significant milestone towards creating a more efficient environment for access to capital across the region, and is a key initiative by ASEAN capital market regulators to promote greater cross-border investment flows and grow the region’s capital markets. The fully harmonised disclosure standards will allow issuers more seamless access to financing opportunities within the region while facilitating investors’ decision making in multi-jurisdiction offerings,” said Ranjit Ajit Singh, Chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia. 

 

“I am proud of this achievement. The arrival of the fully harmonized set of disclosure standards simply proved that ACMF is determined to make fund raising process most efficient for companies looking to expand their businesses. It creates more opportunity for ASEAN to channel our savings to promote growth of our own region. I hope that, in the near future, more ASEAN securities regulators will join Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in adopting the ASEAN Disclosure Standards, yet enlarging the impact of this Scheme.” said Mr Vorapol Socatiyanurak, Secretary-General, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand.

 

Further information on the Scheme is available in Appendix I. Details on the implementation of the Scheme can be found on the websites of the Securities Commission Malaysia ( www.sc.com.my), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (www.mas.gov.sg) and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand (www.sec.or.th).