ABC Forum has a special focus on identifying bottlenecks and barriers hindering free trade of prioritised sectors in the context of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

The event convenes around six sector-based “Lifting-the-Barriers Roundtables” with vertical emphasis on issues specific to the selected sectors. The roundtables serve as a platform for different stakeholders to deliberate on the future of their sector and our ASEAN region as a whole. Participants of this discussion include regulators, private sector leaders, service providers, manufacturers, academics and many more. The selection of discussants aimed to provide a well rounded and truly reflective debate.

 

 

 

 

Fulfilling the Financing Needs of the ASEAN Underserved and SMEs

Financial services and capital markets have a crucial role to play in the development of the ASEAN economy as well as for regional integration. The impressive financial services and capital markets of some of the ASEAN Member States could be the stepping stone on which ASEAN can build its financial integration.

By having an integrated financial and capital market, ASEAN could improve its efficiency of capital allocation, increase intra-ASEAN investment as well as foreign investment. In such an integrated market, companies could raise capital across the region, investors could invest freely across borders, and banks could enter and operate in each member state. With only a few months left before the establishment of the AEC, financial services and capital markets still have substantial barriers left to dismantle.

Issues discussed

1. Benefit from a regional P2P financing platform across ASEAN
2. Cost-efficient and effective mechanism to facilitate P2P investments, fund disbursement
3. and collection across the region
4. Recommendations into a credit rating framework which would represent the credit worthiness of lenders on the platform
5. Contribution from the traditional financial institutions to the start-up and eventual operations of this platform
6. Regulatory frameworks requirement in order to make this work regionally.

Sector Chair
Dato’ Sri Nazir Razak, Chairman CIMB Group

Sector speakers

1. Ms. Josephine, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State
2. Piyush Gupta, Chief Executive Officer & Director, DBS Bank
3. Cezar Consing, President & CEO, Bank of The Philippine Islands
4. Than Nyein, Senior Consultant, KBZ Myanmar & Former Governor of Central, Bank of Myanmar

Research Partner
Chin Wei Min, Asia Pacific Managing Director for Capital Market Industry, Accenture