Malaysia’s hosting and participation in these high-level international meetings reflects the recognition of Malaysia’s significant contribution in the area of international securities regulation.

“As many countries were keen to host these meetings, we are certainly proud that Malaysia was given the opportunity (to host). This shows the confidence that our international counterparts have in Malaysia’s commitment towards international cooperation and promoting high standards of regulation in the securities markets,” said the Securities Commission (SC) Chairman, Datuk Ali Abdul Kadir.

The annual meetings of IOSCO’s Emerging Markets Committee (EMC) will run from 29 to31 October. The EMC comprises regulators from 73 emerging market jurisdictions from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

“These meetings are an important forum for securities markets regulators to discuss and deliberate on issues that affect the performance and development of emerging markets,” said Datuk Ali.

In this regard, Datuk Ali said the issues would include recent wide-reaching events such as corporate improprieties involving the Enron, Worldcom and other major companies, as well as current issues such as money laundering, international benchmarking of regulatory standards, and enhancing international cooperation for enforcement.

“The meetings are especially timely in light of the current global environment of uncertainty that continues to affect both developed and emerging markets alike,” he said.

Before the EMC meetings, the IOSCO’s Standing Committee 2 which looks at the regulation of secondary markets of developed markets, will meet tomorrow and Thursday. The SC participates in the committee, which is chaired by the Italian securities regulator, Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB).

The SC will also be hosting the inaugural meeting of the IOSCO Islamic Capital Market Task Force on 1 November. The task force is chaired by Datuk Ali and is referred to as the “Ali Group”.

Datuk Ali said that this is a significant recognition of Malaysia’s leading role in Islamic capital market development and augurs well for the development of an international Islamic financial center in Malaysia.

Datuk Ali said that SC was also organising a public international conference on “Strengthening Investor Confidence in Emerging Markets” in conjunction with the gathering of securities regulators all over the world in Kuala Lumpur.

He added that the issue of strengthening investor confidence is one that all markets, including emerging markets, are grappling with.

Datuk Ali said that the conference provides a timely forum for emerging market regulators and other market players to deliberate over a highly topical issue and consider steps moving forward.

“We have seen in recent years, emerging markets working very hard to improve corporate governance standards and strengthen investor confidence. And indeed, some, including Malaysia, have made great strides in this regard,” said Datuk Ali.

“However, these countries today face a setback as recent high-profile corporate scandals in the developed markets and terrorist acts have shaken confidence the world over and the emerging markets have not been spared,” said Datuk Ali.

He said the international conference provides an excellent opportunity for market players to network with securities regulators the world over and leading experts and decision makers.

Within the context of strengthening investor confidence, the conference enables participants to examine the state of play and outlook for emerging markets given today’s changing economic circumstances, investor preference and risk-return characteristics. Participants will have a chance to explore these issues in detail in the panel session on “Investing in Emerging Markets”.

Last week, the SC Malaysia through its training and education arm, Securities Industry Development Centre (SIDC), organized a week-long training session for some 50 officials from emerging economies such as Kazakhstan, Jordan, Turkey, Uganda, Oman, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan. This is in line with Malaysia’s commitment towards the South-South Co-operation, especially in terms of building capacity and exchange of information, experiences and knowledge among developing countries.

IOSCO is a worldwide forum for securities regulators that addresses issues and demands relating to the regulation of securities and futures markets. IOSCO has a membership of 177 securities regulators, associate members and affiliate members.