The second phase of the initiative that intends to connect seven stock markets across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will kick off with the accession of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, it emerged this week.
Meeting in Vietnam, senior executives from the exchange groups committed to the ASEAN Trading Link agreed the country would follow Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia – which went live last year – as part of the Invest ASEAN 2013 programme.
The aim of the ASEAN Link, which is underpinned by technology provided by SunGard, is to allow local and international investors easier access to equity investments within the ASEAN region.
Invest ASEAN 2013, a rolling roadshow across the region aimed at promoting the benefits of the ASEAN Trading Link to investors, is a collaboration by the participating exchanges, brokers and regulators.
“The enthusiastic turnout of local investors at Invest ASEAN 2013’s debut roadshow is a strong validation of the collaborative efforts of ASEAN Exchanges to open up cross-border trade in ASEAN,” said Charamporn Jothikasthira, president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, speaking in Ho Chi Minh City.
“Invest ASEAN 2013 presents an exciting beginning to new investment opportunities in ASEAN and the turnout confirms investors’ readiness and desire to trade cross-border. And this was reaffirmed by the positive feedback received from many of the 1,200 investors in total who attended Invest ASEAN 2013.”
Last month, a Deutsche Bank report on options for closer integration of clearing and settlement processes in the ASEAN region argues that that participating markets would benefit from lower cost and risk with closer post-trade ties. The report suggested the ASEAN Trading Link’s aims of offering cross-border trading would be significantly strengthened by greater clearing and settlement options across the Asia-Pacific region.