‘Work together to strengthen Asian capital marts’
KUALA LUMPUR: Asian markets should not fear competition with each other, but should instead work together to create stronger and more cohesive capital markets.
Oxford Finance Group chief executive officer Dr Ruben Lee said the infrastructure in the region indicated that market structures had remained the same.
“In this region, there are five to seven countries that want to be the single regional financial hub for the past 20 to 50 years, and they all want to protect their national markets and restrict competition to their national markets via trading and clearance systems.
“Asia has all the savings and financial needs for its infrastructure, but could not find intermediation. Hence, the money has to go abroad and be recycled back here,” he said.
Lee said this at a panel discussion titled “Changing Market Structures and Implications to Regional Markets” at the Global Emerging Markets Regulatory Conference at the Securities Commission, here, yesterday.
The session discussed significant changes to global financial markets following regulatory reforms and growth in technology and market innovation, which led to evolving market structures that have implications for capital markets.
Putting forth an argument for the merits of competition, Lee said the results of such practices could benefit many parties in the long run.
“The results of the competition will be that maybe one or two of the seven countries will be the regional hub, which will not be good for the rest who covet the position.
“However, it will be good for each of the nations, even when those nations do not prosper in the way that they might have wanted.
“That is a vision of where we are at the moment,” he added.
Moderated by Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association head of public policy and regulatory affairs Wayne Arnold, the session also featured Bloomberg Asia Pacific’s head of market structure strategy Drew Brick and International Swaps and Derivatives Association Asia Pacific regional director Keith Noyes.