In July 2022, the Joint Committee (JC) agreed to commence a review of the Passport as provided for in the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) which governs the implementation and operation of the Passport.
The review will cover the current Passport arrangements and also seek feedback from the funds management industry in each of the member economies about using the Passport.
The review will include consultation of industry stakeholders in each of the JC member jurisdictions by a survey which will be distributed in each member economy. The survey will seek responses to questions in relation to:
• level of interest and/or preparedness to participate in the Passport
• factors informing the decision to participate in the Passport
• interest in participating in industry sessions as part of future JC meetings.
The JC also proposes to engage some non-member economies about their views on the operation of the Passport.
Background
The Passport was established through the APEC Finance Ministers’ Process and went live in February 2019.
In June 2016, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and Thailand entered into the MoC. The Joint Committee was established under the MoC to oversee the effective implementation and operation of the Passport.
The Passport enables cross-border offerings of managed funds to retail investors. It aims to provide significant benefits to investors by enabling greater fund choice in the Asia Pacific region, while maintaining effective legal and regulatory arrangements for the protection of investors. It also aims to strengthen the capacity, expertise and international competitiveness of the funds industry and financial markets of the region.