SEC Philippines strives for greater connectivity of ASEAN capital markets

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Philippines continues to work with ASEAN counterparts toward greater capital market connectivity in the region, as the Commission kicked off its first four months as co-chair of the ASEAN Working Committee-Capital Market Development (WC-CMD).

The Commission will co-chair the WC-CMD, a committee established with the vision of achieving cross-border collaboration among capital markets in ASEAN, together with the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) Brunei Darussalam from 2022 to 2024.

SEC Philippines and MOFE Brunei Darussalam took over the leadership of the WC-CMD from the Ministry of Finance Indonesia and SEC Myanmar in a virtual handover event held last August 11.

“In the past two years, as the WC-CMD’s activities heightened and collaboration among its members increased, notable feats in sustainable finance have been achieved, giving way for regional economic stability despite other external factors,” SEC Philippines Commissioner Kelvin Lester K. Lee said during the virtual handover event.

“We acknowledge that collaboration is important in the process to ensure that WCCMD will produce valuable and significant deliverables next year, as well as remarkable milestones in sustainable finance activities in the ASEAN,” Nella Hendriyetty, director of the Center for Regional and Bilateral Policy of the Indonesia Ministry of Finance’s Fiscal Policy Agency, said during the virtual handover event.

To date, the WC-CMD has collaborated with the working groups of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) on infrastructure financing and sustainable financing to enhance regional cooperation and integration among capital markets in the ASEAN. It has also developed a sustainable finance report focusing on government and quasigovernment sectors in the ASEAN.

These efforts are part of the working committee’s endeavor to achieve its six priorities for the year 2022. Other priorities laid out during the handover include the further refinement of the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance; further development of the ASEAN Transition Standards; further engagement with the joint sustainable finance working group with the ACMF; the preparation of a whitepaper as part of stakeholder engagement; and the finalization of the conversation on sustainable finance, which it completed in March.

Following the handover event, the WC-CMD reconvened on September 14 to discuss various developments in cross-sectoral cooperation including updates on the ASEAN Bond Market Development Scorecard, the Risk Monitoring Template, and the successful socialization of the Conversation Pack of Sustainable Finance First for Sustainable Projects’ Initiative.

The conversation pack is a key tool for the working committee to achieve their sustainable finance goals, as it aims to kickstart discussions with the relevant ministries, government agencies, project owners and promoters to consider using sustainable finance as the first choice for financing for sustainable projects. It encourages further involvement of relevant government bodies to be part of the sustainable finance agenda.

Apart from the WC-CMD, the Commission’s active regional involvement in sustainable finance and capital market development can also be felt in the ACMF. The SEC Philippines has also participated in the ACMF Deputies Meeting held on September 19, which provided updates on matters such as bond standards, sustainable finance, and the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance.

The ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance is a key initiative shared with the WCCMD. The second version is currently being crafted, and its publication is slated for the first quarter of 2023. This document will serve as a map for the ASEAN to guide capital toward sustainable activities that would promote economic development. This was further discussed in the Joint Meeting between the ACMF and WC-CMD, which was held on September 28.

Following the meetings with WC-CMD and ACMF, the Commission welcomed delegates from the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on September 22 at the SEC Headquarters in Makati City. The Nepal visit, which was arranged by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), was aimed at sharing with NRB the Commission’s knowledge and capabilities on consumer protection and education initiatives.

The Commission also welcomed representatives from the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance (CCAF) on October 4. Focal persons from the SEC shared the functions, capabilities, and initiatives of the Commission to the CCAF. The meeting successfully earned the SEC Philippines collaboration opportunities from the CCAF.

The active engagement and the successful performance of the Commission in these events prove the SEC Philippines’ dedication and readiness for a stronger international presence. For its part, the SEC Philippines is still committed to its role as protector of Filipinos against investment schemes. The Commission continues to issue cease and desist orders and advisories against unauthorized investment schemes, as well as share its consumer and education initiatives to counter the rise of scammers in the country.