IOSCO hub set to amplify Asia voices

KUALA LUMPUR: The establishment of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions’ (IOSCO) Asia Pacific (APAC) hub, here, means Asian voices can finally be heard on the global stage of regulations.

Jacob Hook, partner and head of Asia Pacific public policy at Oliver Wyman, a leading global management consulting firm, said the hub would enable the creation of a centralised coherent voice across Asian markets.

“Some of the major reforms made over the years has been focused on the needs of North America and Europe,” said Hook, here, yesterday.

“Other countries do have their own needs and issues, but because they have less of a coherent centralised voice, it was difficult for their priorities to be asserted into some of those debates.”

It is useful for Asian economies to have a central point for the development of capital markets to push their issues and needs.

“A centre here, which can pull together views across Asia, as well as centralise more coordinated policy, would be good and most beneficial over time.”

Hook said there were a lot of benefits to having a hub in Malaysia as it would work as an aggregator for lessons learned across Asian markets.

“There are a lot of innovations and market developments happening across Asia, and I think it is very helpful to have a developmental space for those alternative finance platforms, mobile finance and usages of financial technology as well as market integration,” he said.

“All those lessons can be brought together and shared across the entire region through the hub,” he added.