To take advantage of investor interest in the growing economies and sophistication of the financial markets in the Asia Pacific region, a number of Asian economies have collaborated to initiate Asia-centric fund passport schemes. Two schemes involving Singapore are as follows:

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Collective Investment Schemes Framework for Cross Border Offering of Funds (ASEAN CIS Framework)
• The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP)

ASEAN CIS Framework

The securities regulators and capital market authorities of Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand have established and are members to the ASEAN CIS Framework for the cross-border offering of CIS. The objective of the ASEAN CIS Framework is to allow, with minimal regulatory hurdles, a qualifying fund manager to offer units of an ASEAN CIS authorized in its home jurisdiction to retail investors in other host jurisdictions. The participating countries adopt uniform Standards of Qualifying CIS set out the minimum qualifications required for the CIS operator and its management and personnel, relevant investment restrictions, and the obligations of the CIS operator.

At the time of writing, there are seven funds authorized or recognized under the SFA and approved as Qualifying CIS under the ASEAN CIS Framework.

APEC Asia Region Funds Passport 

Another funds passport scheme is the APEC Asia Region Funds Passport, which was launched on 1 February 2019. It facilitates the distribution across regional borders of CIS funds manufactured, distributed and administered within the APEC region (similar to the operation of the ASEAN CIS Framework but with a broader reach). The Republic of Korea, Japan, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand are ready to receive registration applications from local prospective passport funds as well as entry applications from foreign passport funds.

Singapore is currently an observer in the ARFP working group, and could join the ARFP in the future.