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Asean bourses to increase region’s attractiveness through sustainability, market connectivity initiatives

Investors in the region could potentially have greater access to opportunities in neighbouring countries

THE chief executive officers of six major stock exchanges across Asean are pushing to make the region more attractive to investors by working on four proofs of concept (POCs) over the next three years, the bourses said in a joint statement on Tuesday (Jul 16).

The initiatives include establishing a regional data infrastructure and a standard ESG curriculum for listed issuers.

The POCs were discussed at the 37th Asean Exchanges CEOs Meeting held in Malaysia on Friday. The meetup included top executives from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, among others, while representatives from the Cambodia and Laos bourses were present as observers.

The concepts aim to establish a sustainability ecosystem – one of the group’s two focuses to boost the region’s competitiveness, with the other tenet being promoting regional market connectivity.

The president and CEO of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Ramon Monzon, noted that “sustainability is a collective endeavour”. 

The PSE was in July this year included in the Asean-Interconnected Sustainability Ecosystem, which seeks to boost sustainable development by implementing common ESG metrics in its members’ respective data infrastructures.

The CEOs of the exchanges also agreed to jointly pursue offering depository receipts (DRs) in their bourses. Investors across the regional bloc could have greater access to investment opportunities in neighbouring countries, if DRs grow into an Asean-level initiative. 

The agreement follows the launch of Singapore DRs last year, under a collaboration between the Singapore Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Source: The Business Times
Link: Here

August 01, 2024