ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by the five original member countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Between 1984 and 1999, ASEAN admitted Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The ASEAN Declaration states that the objectives of ASEAN are–

	to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian nations; and
	to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter.

The SC assists the Ministry of Finance in several initiatives in the ASEAN Finance Work Programme, and regularly attends meetings of ASEAN in this capacity. The initiatives involving the SC include:

	Monitoring hedge fund activity;
	Development of a mechanism for cross-listings of small and medium-sized enterprises among ASEAN capital markets; and
	Fostering collaborative and co-operative networks among capital market research and training centres in ASEAN member countries.
The ASEAN Capital Market Forum (ACMF) was established under the auspices of ASEAN in 2004. It focuses on the development of regional capital markets, with the aim of analysing substantial issues and, more importantly, finding convergent viewpoints in meeting the critical regional capital market challenges.