What the chairs of ACMF members say:

TAN SRI RANJIT AJIT SINGH Securities Commission Malaysia chairman, chair of ACMF

THE ACMF and capital markets under its auspices have grown and deepened significantly since ACMF’s establishment more than 12 years ago. Regionalisation of its capital markets is important for Asean for two reasons. The first is to strengthen financial intermediation, capacity and risk management to support national and regional growth. The second is to consolidate as a group to reduce vulnerabilities to external shocks and market volatility.

RAPEE SUCHARITAKUL Securities and Exchange Commission Thailand secretary-general

BY having fully connected Asean capital markets, opportunity for extensive investment choices will emerge. Investors will be able to have access to a variety of products with different risk levels which would increase their chance to receive higher returns. Issuers will be able to access to a diverse range of target investors. Market players will also be able to scale up by expanding their business opportunity within the region.

U MAUNG MAUNG WIN Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar chairman

ON December 9 2015, the Yangon Stock Exchange was opened, and a new era began for Myanmar’s capital market. The main obstacle of market development in Myanmar is lack of knowledge and experience in securities industries in every level. To enhance the capacity building of regulators, we have benefited from the young regulators programme as a part of ACMF Market Development Programme.

SAYSAMONE CHANTHACHACK Lao Securities Commission Office secretary-general

LAO PDR has been participating in the ACMF initiatives since 2004. At that time, neither securities exchange nor securities regulatory body existed yet in our country. Even though our market is still at the early stage of development, we believe that under the cooperation and collaboration with ACMF members, we will be able to strengthen our capital market to be align with Asean standard in the near future.

YUSOF ABD RAHMAN Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam managing director

BRUNEI’S financial sector plays a central role in facilitating the country’s transformation under its Wawasan 2035. This includes ensuring the readiness of our legal, regulatory and supervisory framework. ACMF has made large strides to meet the Asean Economic Community objectives and I commend ACMF for their tireless collaborative efforts in achieving several key milestones, including this inaugural ACMF conference.

TERESITA J. HERBOSA Securities and Exchange Commission of Philippines chairperson

THE commission remains active in initiatives towards regional market integration where it coleads the preparation of a framework for Asean green bonds with an emphasis on three key areas — green finance, infrastructure, and capital market development. These reform measures, along with other programmes, are expected to contribute to creating an enabling environment that is conducive to efficient capital allocation and resource mobilisation.

LEE BOON NGIAP Monetary Authority of Singapore, Capital Markets Group assistant managing director

THE ACMF has made good progress in integrating Asean capital markets towards forming an inter-connected, inclusive and resilient Asean capital market by 2025. Disclosure requirements for offerings of securities have been standardised and the funds authorisation processes have been streamlined to strengthen market linkages. The ACMF is also encouraged by the Asean exchanges’ efforts to enhance the user experience for investors investing into Asean stock markets.

TRAN VAN DUNG State Securities Commission of Vietnam chairman

VIETNAM’S securities market is well known as one of the rapid growth capital markets in Asean. Through cooperation and coordination with ACMF members, we can foster the development of Vietnam’s capital market as well as achieve higher level of Asean capital market integration. I believe this integration will achieve great results in the future, contributing to the creation of a dynamic, active Asean capital market.

PAK HOESEN Indonesian Financial Services Authority, Capital Market Supervision chief executive

THROUGH the ACMF’s various initiatives, we can achieve a level playing field and even allow the more emerging members of Asean to progress and benefit the most. For Indonesia, joining the ACMF inspired domestic authorities and market participants to set aside fractional preferences and work together for a common goal of priming our capital market. Today, we are already reaping the benefits of working towards integration.

SOU SOCHEAT Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia director-general

CAMBODIA’S stock market is relative new and small in terms of the number of listed companies, market capitalisation and trading volume. However, we are optimistic that the market will keep growing gradually. The ACMF has contributed noticeably to emerging capital markets like Cambodia, and we envisage that Asean capital markets will grow together under the framework of ACMF.