The MoU was signed by SC Chairman Dato’ Zarinah Anwar and SSC Vietnam Vice Chairman Dr Vu Thi Kim Lean on the sidelines of the 6th ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) meeting in Kuala Lumpur. SC Malaysia is the current chair of the ACMF.

The MoU establishes a framework for assistance and mutual cooperation whereby the two regulators agree to facilitate the exchange of information to enforce and ensure compliance with the securities laws of their respective countries.

Dato’ Zarinah said the MoU was a significant step towards enhancing regulatory ties between the SC and SSC Vietnam.

“This memorandum of understanding will ensure that we have strong cooperation with respect to our primary role as regulators of the marketplace and will allow us to establish a mechanism to ensure effective cross border regulation and exchange of information in order to maintain well-supervised markets that remain attractive to investors and issuers,” Dato’ Zarinah said during the signing ceremony.

In view of the increasing volume of trade and investment between the two countries, it has become necessary for the regulatory authorities to coordinate efforts to ensure sufficient safeguards for these investments. Given the increasing internationalization of capital markets, and the stated aims of ASEAN for closer economic linkages between member nations, the MoU also provides a cooperative platform on which both regulators could further enhance bilateral ties between the two markets.

The MoU with SSC Vietnam is the 25th MoU signed by the SC since 1994. The others include the Capital Market Supervisory Agency of Indonesia, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Securities And Exchange Commission of Thailand, and the China Securities and Regulatory Commission.