ASEAN - Asean Exchanges' strategy to bolster asset class

Asean Exchanges, a collaboration of the seven stock exchanges of the bloc, yesterday unveiled several key milestones in the development of the Asean asset class.

"For the first time ever, with Bursa Malaysia, Singapore Exchange and now the Stock Exchange of Thailand connected, investors have single-entry-point access to three of the largest equity markets of Asean," SET president Charamporn Jotikasthira said.

"Together the three markets offer investors easier access to more than 2,200 listed companies with a market capitalisation of US$1.4 trillion, which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the total market capitalisation of Asean," he said at a news conference at the World Federation of Exchanges 52nd General Assembly and Annual Meeting.

Asean Exchanges made history yesterday when the SET became the third member to connect to the Asean Trading Link, after Bursa Malaysia and Singapore Exchange did so last month.

Magnus Bocker, chief executive officer of the Singapore Exchange, said 31 brokerages from across Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand - including the five biggest regional houses - were connected on the Asean Trading Link.

"These brokers can now offer investors seamless access across the connected Asean markets. In time, this infrastructure could beget more liquidity, benefiting investors and markets of this region," he said.

Ito Warsito, CEO of the Indonesia Stock Exchange, said Asean Exchanges was focused on delivering four implementation pillars - driving cross-border collaboration, streamlining access to Asean, creating Asean-centric products, and implementing targeted promotional initiatives.

Tran Dac Sinh, chairman of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, said the newly enhanced website - Aseanexchanges.org - was a clear testament to the strength of the Asean Exchanges collaboration. It had set a strategy of working with best-in-class partners from around the world to raise the profile of the Asean asset class.

The website provides a single, integrated view of the Asean market, aggregated Asean market data and analytics in a single location, and the performance of the seven exchanges individually, the CEOs said.

It is built around the Asean Stars, the 180 Asean blue-chip stocks that represent the 30 most exciting companies of each Asean country as ranked by investability in terms of market capitalisation and liquidity, they said.

Tran Van Dzung, CEO of the Hanoi Stock Exchange, said that with a collective market capitalisation of $2 trillion (Bt61 trillion), there were opportunities in the Asean markets. The exchanges of Vietnam were actively collaborating with the five other exchanges to build the Asean asset class and were eager to connect their markets when conditions permit.

Thomson Reuters has developed a series of Asean-centric Reuters Instrument Codes, while the "FTSE/Asean Indices Weekly Report" will be available on the Asean Exchanges website.

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