Four Asean nations to lift barriers to cross-border investment advisory

SOUTH-EAST Asian financial regulators have agreed to allow cross-border investment advisory services and to set standards for social and sustainability bonds, according to announcements from the Asean Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) in Singapore.

The forum has launched a framework to facilitate cross-border movement of investment advisers to give investors within the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) member countries greater access to professional services. The first phase of the plan will be to introduce an "ACMF Pass" that allows licensed professionals to provide advisory services within particpating Asean jurisdictions with fast-track registration and no additional licensing requirements.

Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are the first four countries to take part in the initiative, signing a memorandum of understanding on Thursday.

At the ACMF, the regulators also introduced the Asean Social Bonds Standards and the Asean Sustainability Bonds Standards. These follow the introduction of Green Bond standards in November 2017, and give Asean a common foundation for developing sustainable finance in the region.