Securities market regulators from the Asia-Pacific region have created a common database that will include details of enforcement actions undertaken by the regulators.

This has been done to establish greater coordination and facilitate information exchange, it was announced on Wednesday.

The announcement was made at the three-day meet of the Asia-Pacific regional committee (APRC) of the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO), which concluded in Delhi today.

Market watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), along with regulators from Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and a few other countries, have agreed that immediate action is required to engage with each other not only at the regional level but at the global level as well.
In a statement issued today, Sebi said, “A central enforcement database, which is meant to have a common place for all APRC members to share their enforcement actions, has been developed by the APRC secretariat with the help of the IOSCO secretariat. This initiative would enhance the information sharing on enforcement in this region.”

The database, a Sebi official said, will help bridge the information divide between APRC members, which is crucial to deal with investment frauds across the region. Hence, the official said, if a company or individual has been penalised in one member country, details of the wrongdoing and action taken in the case will be uploaded on the database and can be accessed by the other APRC member-countries.   

With over 120 regulators as its members, IOSCO, established in 1983, is recognised as the global standard-setter for the securities sector.

During the meeting, the regulators also shared their experiences in ‘investor protection’ and usage of technology in dealing with fraudulent selling of capital market products. In addition, the problem of regulatory arbitrage was discussed and it was decided that regulations needed to be made more consistent across the region to tackle the issue.