The Securities Commission Malaysia, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Singapore Exchange have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a Streamlined Review Framework for the Asean Common Prospectus.
The framework will require both home and host authorities to complete the approval process for foreign share offering at the same time, within four months from the date of submission, the SEC said in a statement.
Under the proposed framework, the process for overseas companies issuing equity securities or plain debt securities in these three countries will be streamlined as long as the prospectus is prepared in accordance with the Asean Disclosure Standards.
This will enhance market efficiency, as the time taken for the issuer to obtain approval to offer its securities in multiple jurisdictions will be shortened.
The Streamlined Review Framework is an initiative under the Asean Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) implementation plan endorsed by Asean finance ministers in 2009.
The framework is aimed at facilitating cross-border offerings of equity securities and plain debt securities in jurisdictions that are signatories to the MoU in order to foster Asean capital market integration.
Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand were the first three jurisdictions to sign the MoU.
Other securities regulators in an Asean jurisdiction may be included in the framework if they meet the entry requirements.
Asean exchanges with a substantial role in reviewing qualitative listing requirements may also sign the MoU along with the securities regulators in their jurisdictions.
The MoU signatories aim to implement the framework by the third quarter. They will jointly issue a handbook to provide guidance on the various administrative and procedural matters including criteria for issuers, the application procedures and the review timeline.
"The MoU is another significant accomplishment of the ACMF in developing Asean as an asset class. The achievement of a multi-jurisdiction securities offering will pave the way for an integrated Asean capital market and the upcoming AEC," SEC secretary-general Vorapol Socatiyanurak said.