Representatives of Treasury and ASIC are slated to travel to Malaysia in two weeks to nut out policy and technical aspects of the Asia Region Funds Passport pilot program.
The meeting signals ongoing momentum for the project, which would create a regional jurisdiction, including regulatory requirements and professional standards, to be set for Australia and other passport participants.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member-nations are invited to participate but it is unlikely all 21 will attend the meeting, to be held on 13-15 December in Kuala Lumpur.
Although participants of the so-called Asian passport have not yet been finalised, it was hoped the developed, more regulated fund management markets of Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong would partner with Australia in the plan.
However, the program was expected to include a roadmap for less developed countries that wanted to get up to speed quickly and become involved at a later date.
The pilot program aims to set out qualifications that would extend to all participants, allowing them to manage and domicile funds in each others’ jurisdictions and possibly even offer financial advice across borders.
Meanwhile, Treasury and ASIC have been working on proposals which they will deliver at the upcoming meeting.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) said officials and regulators had drawn up detailed, comprehensive proposals for the passport plan, including how the plan might work in jurisdictions outside Australia.
“It’s a really good foundation for how the scheme could operate,” the funds management industry body said.
“We’re very happy with the work that ASIC and Treasury have done on this.”
Although each country was expected to have its own ideas, the proposals to be presented by Australia was seen as a solid foundation for other participants.
The meeting would fall under APEC’s finance ministers’ process, part of the forum for exchanging views on regional macroeconomic issues and financial developments.
The nascent passport plan coincides with a time of heavy pressure for fund flows as investors switch to plain-vanilla term deposits, perceived as safer and cheaper.
The passport could help reopen flows by giving Australia’s fund managers access to US$2.8 trillion in funds under management (FUM), or 13 per cent of global FUM, throughout the region.
