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Strengthening Capital Markets Development and Regional Surveillance

Within ASEAN, MAS is working with its counterparts and the private sector to promote the strengthening and deepening of regional capital markets by enhancing market linkages, market access and market liquidity. MAS participates in the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum to create conditions that are more conducive for multi-jurisdictional offerings within ASEAN and raise the attractiveness of ASEAN as an international fund-raising centre. The initiatives are undertaken with an aim to achieve greater integration of the region's capital markets under the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2015 (AEC Blueprint). The AEC Blueprint was jointly adopted by ASEAN leaders at the 13^th ASEAN Summit on 20 November 2007 to establish ASEAN as a single market and production base, with free flow of goods, services, investments and skilled labour, as well as free flow of capital. As chair of the Working Committee on Capital Market Development under the ASEAN Finance Ministers' Meeting process, MAS works with our ASEAN counterparts to promote the strengthening and deepening of regional bond markets. In 2010, the Committee developed a Bond Market Development Scorecard to measure the state of ASEAN's bond market development, openness and liquidity. Through this scorecard, the Committee will look to speed up the pace of regional capital market development through targeted and systematic capacity building initiatives.

At the Executives' Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks¹ (EMEAP), MAS assumed the chairmanship of the Working Group on Financial Markets (WGFM) in July 2010. WGFM has done significant work in strengthening regional financial markets, notably through the Asian Bond Fund initiative. MAS will work with EMEAP members to further develop safety nets for cross-border flows and enhance the EMEAP countries' local capital markets.

MAS also participates actively in the annual ASEAN Insurance Regulators' Meetings (AIRM). Substantive topics of interest were discussed, including ASEAN insurance cooperation and information exchange, and enhancing insurance penetration in ASEAN. MAS will host the 14th AIRM in 2011 in Singapore.

In May 2010, ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers announced plans to establish the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) in Singapore. This follows the entry-into-force-in March 2010 of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM), a US$120 billion multilateral currency swap facility that aims to address short-term liquidity and balance of payment difficulties faced by the ASEAN+3 economies. As the independent surveillance unit of the CMIM, AMRO, officially commenced operations in May 2011. AMRO will monitor the macroeconomic and financial situation of the ASEAN+3 region and play a key supporting role in the decision-making process of the CMIM. Singapore is committed to working closely with ASEAN+3 and AMRO to bring about its success.