Background - In a previous article, we touched upon the tangible efforts undertaken by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to create a single integrated marketplace for listed securities. More recently, two ASEAN jurisdictions have taken tentative steps towards the mutual recognition of ASEAN funds. This DechertOnPoint examines recent developments in Southeast Asia that may bring us closer to an ASEAN-centric approach to the distribution of funds in Asia.

By way of background, in November 2007, ASEAN member states adopted the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2015 (AEC Blueprint), which outlines the goals and timelines of implementing the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015. The AEC is anticipated to establish ASEAN as a single market and production base in order to increase ASEAN’s dynamism and competitiveness, with the end goal of economic integration into the global economy. To implement the objectives of the AEC Blueprint, on 9 April 2009, the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) created a framework for the mutual recognition of cross-border offerings of collective investment scheme products (CIS) within ASEAN to non-retail investors, with the intention of making such products available to retail investors once adequate protective measures have been established.

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