Contributing to international regulatory policymaking

The SC is actively involved in various international fora including among others, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

1. International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is the the leading international policy forum for securities regulators and is recognised as the global standard setter for securities regulation. The organisation's membership regulates more than 95% of the world's securities markets in more than 115 jurisdictions and its membership continues to expand.

The SC has led various IOSCO Committees and Task Forces, including the following:

IOSCO Board (Vice Chair: 2013 – 2018);
Growth and Emerging Markets Committee (Chair: 2013 – 2018; Chair: 1996 – 1999; Vice Chair: 2008 – 2012, Vice Chair 2019 – Present);
Asia Pacific Regional Committee (Chair: 2000 – 2004);
Emerging Markets Committee Working Group on Secondary Market Regulations (Chair: 1994 – 2013);
Board Task Force on Long-Term Financing (Co-Chair: 2013 – 2014);
Executive Committee Task Force on Islamic Capital Markets (Chair: 2002 – 2004)

The SC also participates and provides input to the Policy Committees of IOSCO, which are responsible for issuing standards that become the benchmark against which an IOSCO member's regulatory framework is assessed. IOSCO members, including the SC, undergo various assessments by a number of international organisations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as part of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP).

The Malaysian capital market regulatory framework emerged from this extensive assessment with a score of 92%, with ratings of `Fully Implemented’ for 34 out of 37 IOSCO Principles assessed. The detailed assessment is available here. Since the assessment, the SC has taken steps to close the relevant gaps, including amending its laws and enhancing the relevant guidelines.

2. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation established in 1961 with 34 member countries. The objective of the OECD is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of the world population.

The Committee meets twice a year and participation is exclusive to OECD member countries and invited non-member countries. The SC also participates and provides technical input to the OECD’s work on Corporate Governance, including through the OECD Asian Roundtable on Corporate Governance that is held annually.

3. Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the Ministers of its member jurisdictions. The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

As a FATF and the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) member, Malaysia is recognised as a jurisdiction being at the core of global efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. To this end, the SC has adopted the implementation of the international standards set by FATF via SC’s Guidelines on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing for Capital Market Intermediaries and the Guidelines on Implementation of Targeted Financial Sanctions Relating to Proliferation Financing for Capital Market Intermediaries.

In 2014, FATF and APG conducted a joint assessment of Malaysia's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) system. The assessment is a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of Malaysia's AML/CFT system and its level of compliance with the FATF Recommendations. Overall, Malaysia has a robust legal AML/CFT framework with generally well-developed and implemented policies. The report is available here.