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