Asean forum hails progress 

Since its launch in November 2017, the Asean Green Bond Standards have gained encouraging traction and there have been three issuances from Malaysia and Singapore carrying the Asean Green Bond label. The first sovereign sukuk in Asean issued by Indonesia is aligned with the Asean Green Bond Standards, according to Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand release on Wednesday.
 The progress of the Asean Green Bond Standards demonstrates the region's increasing emphasis on sustainable financing and underscores the capacity of the Asean Green Bond Standards in providing guidance to issuers on issuing green bonds and investors with a credible reference point.
 The meeting also welcomed the hosting of the first ACMF Asean Green Bond Standards roundtable by the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC Viet Nam) to engage with market participants including banks, securities firms and fund management companies, on the adoption of the Asean Green Bond Standards. Similar ACMF roundtables will be held throughout the region to raise awareness as well as to encourage greater adoption of the Asean Green Bond Standards.
 The ACMF also agreed to carry out a series of engagements with market participants on further developing the cross border offering of Asean collective investment schemes (CIS) to complement the recently enhanced Asean CIS framework.
 The ACMF commended the pilot initiative to connect the stock markets of Malaysia and Singapore which could act as a template for future connectivity among Asean stock markets.