The Joint Committee (JC) has published its report of the Asia Region Funds Passport (AFRP) review that was conducted in late 2022. The member economies invited collective investment scheme operators and distributors in their respective jurisdictions to participate in the survey. The survey asked about the level of interest in participating in the ARFP, what factors would increase such interest and challenges to participation.
About the review
The purpose of the report is to set out the key findings of the ARFP review undertaken by the JC as the governing body of the ARFP. The JC undertook the review as part of its functions under the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC). The JC is required to commence a review of the passport arrangements two years after the date on which the first two member economies implemented the passport arrangements, or at a time determined by the JC, and publish the report on the ARFP website.
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.