MAS today announced that the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) has introduced the ASEAN and Plus Standards Scheme (the Scheme) for cross-border offerings of securities. The ACMF, of which MAS is a member, comprises the heads of securities regulators in the region and operates under the auspices of the ASEAN Finance Ministerial Meeting process.
2. The Scheme is applicable to issuers who wish to offer plain [1] equity and debt securities in more than one ASEAN country. It comprises a set of common ASEAN Standards for the registration of prospectuses or registration statements and additional requirements as prescribed by individual ASEAN members known as the Plus Standards.
3. The ASEAN Common Standards are based on the international standards on cross-border offerings of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) [2] and fully adopts the accounting and auditing standards of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the International Standards on Auditing (ISA).
4. The Scheme brings ease and cost savings to issuers who make offerings in more than one ASEAN country. The offering process is streamlined as issuers will only be required to issue a common set of disclosure documents, together with the appropriate wrap-around for the additional requirements, to investors in each jurisdiction.
5. MAS is currently working with other ACMF members on implementing the Scheme.
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