Empresas y finanzas

Final Communique of the 32nd Annual Conference of the International Organization of Securities Commissions



    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:

    http://www.businesswireindia.com/attachments/Detailed_document_IOS
    CO_2007_Conference.doc