Singapore's Tee on integrated ASEAN capital market

"Europe already recognises the potential of ASEAN. European investors have been showing strong demand for ASEAN debt, both in G3 currencies and increasingly in ASEAN currencies, in their bid to diversify their portfolio and to benefit from Asia's growth. We have seen AAA-rated tranches of Asian Asset-Backed Securities, including the Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities portion of Real Estate Investment Trusts from Singapore, being placed largely in Europe. European bond issuers are also increasing their forays into the ASEAN investor base, tapping the fast-growing demand for fixed-income assets from central banks, pension funds and private accounts. In the recent Kreditanstalt fur Kwiederaufbau (KfW) five-year global bond launched in January 2005, over 40% of the paper were placed in Asia, of which a sizeable chunk came to ASEAN. KfW, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Nordic Investment Bank and various other European institutions have also issued, for example, Singapore dollar bonds."

Speech by Mr Ong Chong Tee, MAS Deputy Managing Director, at Bank Negara Euro Conference - Expanding Asean-EU Economic Links: The Role of the Euro, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 14 July 2005.

Click here to read the speech "Towards an integrated ASEAN capital market" on the Monetary Authority of Singapore's website