Page updated: April 10, 2012

Financial Services Agency organized an international conference on “Asian Market Integration and Financial Innovation” with Japan Securities Dealers Association and Tokyo Stock Exchange Group, Inc. on February 10, 2012.
Active discussions were held at the conference, which was attended by nearly 500 participants in total, including representatives from government organizations such as financial authorities, central banks, financial institutions, researchers and officials of embassies in Tokyo.

Concept

Asian financial markets have undergone rapid development and structural changes in the past decade, and have experienced numerous changes. With regard to the recent global financial crisis, the Asian financial markets were relatively less affected, as the Asian markets have implemented various measures to safeguard financial system stability following the Asian currency crisis and nonperforming loan problems. On the other hand, the effects of the recent global financial crisis are lingering in the U.S. and European financial markets, which are searching for an exit. Hence, capital and financial service providers have found the Asian markets even more attractive than before the crisis. However, not only individual countries but the Asian financial market as a whole should be able to take policy responses against possible future crises. In order to make and keep the Asian financial markets more attractive, the integration of the major Asian markets is no longer just a dream for the future; the time has come to consider steps toward realizing it. To this end, the development of market infrastructure and regulations in the Asian financial markets needs to be analyzed and should be designed to keep pace with these circumstances.
In order to discuss integration and the further development of the Asian financial markets, policy makers need to: (i) ascertain the current status of post-crisis regulatory reform from the global perspective and also from the perspective of the Asian markets, and identify future challenges for the Asian markets; (ii) identify specific challenges in promoting competition and coordination in terms of Asian financial market integration; and (iii) consider developing financial infrastructure tailored to the needs of the regional markets, such as new services for settlement and businesses using, for example, information technology, and formulating the relevant regulatory framework for such services, and identify areas in which further progress is required.
This conference attempts to address the issues above through presentations and discussions by international and regional senior-level participants, from the private and official sectors, and aims to strengthen cooperation among market participants and regulators.

General Information