Industry Body Formed To Foster Development of Asian Capital Markets

ASIFMA aims to promote growth, efficiency and global market best practices

date: October 24, 2006
contact: Bruce Shu, Citigate Dewe Rogerson, Office +852 2533 4607
Jasmine Yap, Citigate Dewe Rogerson, Office +852 2533 4641

published: 10.24.06

Hong Kong, October 24, 2006 — Major financial institutions representing the breadth of the global and regional capital markets came together yesterday to launch the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), the first regional industry body aimed at promoting the development of Asia’s capital markets and their orderly integration into the global financial system.

“Building deeper and more liquid domestic capital markets will provide Asia with the kind of large scale financing the region needs to sustain its exceptional growth,” said Anthony Iliya, co-chair of ASIFMA and managing director and executive vice chairman of Asset Management for Asia Pacific at Credit Suisse. “We look forward to helping to standardize market practices and working with regulators to create a more stable, transparent regulatory environment which in turn will foster the growth of the capital markets.”

“Deep, liquid bond markets are absolutely essential to the efficient financing of long-term infrastructure development projects in the region,” commented Jialin Liu, ASIFMA co-chair and managing director and head of Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange for Asia Pacific at Morgan Stanley. “Well developed capital markets will also provide a more stable and cost-effective source of funding for local government and business.”

ASIFMA’s membership is made up of a broad range of market participants, including global and regional investment banks, securities dealers, asset managers, ratings agencies, law firms, trading and analytic platforms, and custody and settlement providers. Working together, the members can develop effective market-based solutions to the challenges involved in more fully developing the region’s capital markets. Mr. Iliya and Mr. Liu were elected co-chairs at the group’s inaugural meeting yesterday, while David Lynne and Tarun Mahrotri were named vice chairs. Nicholas de Boursac, currently serving as executive director of The American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, was chosen as ASIFMA’s managing director.

“We are extremely pleased to have the support of all the leading organizations in the industry, from banks to rating agencies to asset managers,” said Mr. Lynne, ASIFMA's co-vice chair. “This is essential to creating market-based solutions which are critical to developing the markets.”

“A basic tenet of the Association will be consensus building,” noted Mr. Mahrotri, ASIFMA's co-vice chair. “We look forward to incorporating the views of all the market participants in the organization in the development of broadly accepted market standards and practices.”

ASIFMA plans to focus on markets in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. The Association will advocate on behalf of its members and markets and will work to promote robust investor protection rules, standardization of market practices, and the principal of self-regulation. Importantly, it will also seek to harmonize regulations and standards across the regional and global financial markets.

“Local market practices and regulation need to be more consistent, where possible, with proven and well-settled practices in Europe and North America,” said Mr. de Boursac. “We will work to ensure there is effective communication and interaction between market participants and public policymakers in Asia, Europe and North America on capital market developments.”

ASIFMA also plans to sponsor timely conferences on key issues and engage in other educational programs on a range of topics important to market participants.

ASIFMA is associated with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the entity that recently resulted from the merger of The Bond Market Association and the Securities Industry Association.