Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

7-2017

Abstract

In 2015, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community was formally established and its aim was to achieve, among other things, an integrated securities market within ASEAN.

Before the formal establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, in 2009, with a view towards achieving the objective of securities integration, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand adopted the ASEAN Disclosure Standards, a set of harmonized disclosure standards for issuers making cross-border initial public offerings (IPOs). These participating Member States also entered into a framework for the expedited review for cross-listings. However, more than 5 years later, there is no documented use of the ASEAN Disclosure Standards; cross-border IPOs and cross-listings remain rare.

This article is a study of cross-border IPOs of issuers in, and cross-listings within, the participating Member States during the 2010–2014 period, with a view to obtaining insights on how issuers access capital markets. These insights are relevant to the broader questions about the long-term viability of ASEAN’s regulatory policies of promoting integration through harmonization of minimum standards along with limited mutual recognition.

This article compares the ASEAN approach with the EU Prospectus Directive and the Trans-Tasman Mutual Offering Framework. This article argues that to move to a truly pan-ASEAN equity offering, there needs to be, at a minimum, a greater supervisory and enforcement convergence.

Keywords

ASEAN, Asia, initial public offerings, securities, corporation law, harmonization

Discipline

Asian Studies | Commercial Law | Corporate Finance | International Law

Research Areas

Corporate, Finance and Securities Law

Publication

Capital Markets Law Journal

Volume

12

Issue

3

First Page

381

Last Page

411

ISSN

1750-7219

Identifier

10.1093/cmlj/kmx028

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Embargo Period

7-31-2017

Copyright Owner and License

Author

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1093/cmlj/kmx028

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