Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
The world's securities and futures regulators as well as other members of the international financial community have successfully concluded their meeting in Mumbai, India which took place from 9-12 April 2007 on the occasion of the 32nd Annual Conference of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
This year's conference which attracted more than 500 delegates from around the world and which included representatives from more than 100 countries was hosted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
The conference was officially opened by Mr. P. Chidambaram, The Hon. Finance Minister of India, whose presence along with other high level dignitaries indicated a strong level of support for the international collaborative efforts of the world's financial regulators. In his opening remarks to the Conference, Mr. Chidambaram said "the protection of the interests of the investors and the promotion and development of the securities market are inseparable twin objectives".
The Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Mr. M. Damodaran, confirmed the importance of this year's event to India by stating that: "India has become a front runner among the emerging markets in implementing international financial standards. This IOSCO Conference while being yet another significant step in increasing cooperation among securities regulators, has helped to showcase the development and progress which has been achieved in the Indian securities market".
The Chairperson of the IOSCO Executive Committee, Ms Jane Diplock, revealed that the organization continues to make substantial progress in further promoting the cause of international cooperation among securities regulators in particular via the IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Consultation and Cooperation and the Exchange of Information (IOSCO MOU).
Ms Diplock said that "the increased capability of regulators to cooperate is vital as capital markets become increasingly global. The effort which IOSCO is driving via the MOU as well as other initiatives is already delivering positive results and will continue to bring major benefits to securities markets worldwide including to investor confidence".
In his remarks to the Conference, the Chairman of the IOSCO Technical Committee, Mr. Michel Prada, noted the increased trend towards international convergence as evidenced in the organization's current activities: "The issues we are working on are slowly but inevitably converging from region to region and also globally, be they related to issuers, such as internal control and disclosure, to intermediaries such as trading and potential conflicts of interest, or related to retail investors such as those regarding the suitability of financial products".
At the conclusion of the Conference, IOSCO outlined the issues which represent the organization's main areas of focus at this time including:
IOSCO Memorandum of Understanding
The organization expressed satisfaction with the progress made as the number of signatories to the IOSCO MOU continues to steadily increase. Adopted in May 2002, the IOSCO MOU provides for improved enforcement related cooperation and the exchange of information among regulators. It represents one of the organization's most significant contributions yet to delivering on better regulatory cooperation and more effective cross-border enforcement.
There are currently 41 IOSCO members who have signed the MOU. New signatories who were welcomed during the Conference included:
-- Bermuda Monetary Authority
-- Financial Services Commission of the British Virgin Islands
-- China Securities Regulatory Commission
-- Commission de surveillance du secteur financier of Luxembourg
-- Securities Commission of Malaysia
An additional 15 members have expressed their commitment in accordance with Appendix B requirements to the IOSCO MOU. This means that they have expressed a formal commitment to seek the legal authority that would enable them to become signatories. The most recent additions are:
-- Financial Supervisory Commission of Chinese Taipei
-- Securities & Exchange Commission of Ghana
-- Conseil du marche financier of Tunisia
-- Superintendencia General de Valores of Costa Rica
IOSCO continues to monitor the progress of each member currently listed on Appendix B as they seek to make the transition to become full signatories.
It is noted that the Emerging Markets Committee has recently carried out a project to examine the obstacles that emerging markets face in adopting the MOU. The project concluded that some emerging markets may face obstacles in meeting the requirements but that training programs provide invaluable assistance.
Related to these developments is the IOSCO MOU Assistance Program which aims to help members throughout their application process. The Program which is coordinated by the IOSCO General Secretariat provides experienced specialists to work with members requiring technical assistance in order to help them conform to the necessary international regulatory standards.
To date a wide range of members have or are currently in the process of benefiting from this Program including those from the following jurisdictions: Costa Rica, Indonesia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Thailand, Mauritius, Vietnam, Brunei and Philippines. Third party funding for the Program, in particular from other international financial institutions including regional development banks such as the Asian Development Bank, is also being explored and has successfully been secured in several instances.
Private Equity
IOSCO has established a new Task Force to explore the regulatory risks associated with private equity which has in recent years become an increasingly important component in capital markets. The project is considering the risks associated with private equity markets and assess whether the activity of private equity firms poses any concerns for securities regulators.
The IOSCO Task Force on Private Equity is chaired by the Financial Services Authority of the United Kingdom.
Admission of New Members
IOSCO is pleased to welcome the following as new members to the organization:
-- Financial Services Commission of the British Virgin Islands (Ordinary Member)
-- Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (Associate Member)
-- Autoregulator del Mercado de Valores of Colombia (Affiliate Member)
-- Abu Dhabi Securities Market (Affiliate Member)
-- Dubai Financial Market of the United Arab Emirates (Affiliate Member)
-- Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (Affiliate Member)
-- Muscat Stock Exchange of Oman (Affiliate Member)
-- Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (Affiliate Member)
-- Jasdaq Securities Exchange of Japan (Affiliate Member)
Future Conferences
IOSCO will hold its next Annual Conference in Paris, France from 26-29 May 2008. Thereafter, the Annual Conference for 2009 will take place in Tel Aviv, Israel. During meetings this week, IOSCO voted for Montreal, Canada, to be the host for the Annual Conference in 2010.
To view the detailed document on IOSCO 2007 proceedings, please click on the link below:
IOSCO 2007 Proceedings
Philippe Richard, , +34 91 417 5549 / +34 650 378 899 mail@oicv.iosco.org
Andrew Larcos, IOSCO Secretariat, , +34 91 417 5549 / +34 679 969 004 mail@oicv.iosco.org
Source: International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) (Business Wire India)
Press release presented here is sourced from the Source mentioned above and is provided on as-is basis. Please contact the Company / Source directly for any further information in regard to this release. This website will be unable to assist you in regard to the accuracy or correctness of information in this release.
