The CEOs of Southeast Asia’s stock exchanges are optimistic that by their joint efforts, they can create collaboratively an ‘”ASEAN asset class.'” However, their communique does not elaborate on the shape that this might take.
Their intent emerged at the end of a meeting between the seven heads of exchanges committed to the project.
The exchanges are located in Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam (Vietnam has two exchanges, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City). ASEAN itself is an association of Southeast Asian nations that also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, though none of these countries are participants in ASEAN Exchanges.
ASEAN Exchanges launched in April 2011. Since then the participant exchanges have produced the ASEAN Trading Link, covering their respective markets, with the aim of providing ease of investment to local investors wanting to trade the region more broadly. It has been operative in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia for two years, followed later by Vietnam. In a discussion with the Singapore Exchange, the president Muthukrishnan Ramaswami told us that the link has not yet really caught on with any significant popularity amid Asia’s retail sector.
The ASEAN body has also developed post-trade services. In April 2014, they announced that Deutsche Bank had been appointed to provide custody and settlement services.
In May 2014, three new tradable ASEAN indices with FTSE were introduced, the ‘FTSE ASEAN All-Share Index’, ‘FTSE ASEAN Stars Index’ and ‘FTSE ASEAN All Share Ex-Developed Index’.