Page 22 - AEC Digital Edition

Regulatory harmonisation a key element
in insurance market integration

Cambodia’s Minister of Economy & Finance, Dr Aun Porn Moniroth delivered an inspiring address at the
opening ceremony of the 18th ASEAN Insurance Regulators’ Meeting (AIRM) and the 41st ASEAN Insurance
Council (AIC) Meeting, hosted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 28 October this year. In it, he urged for
collaboration amongst regulators in ASEAN to improve insurance supervisory standards, and to constantly
engage insurers in the path towards a more liberal insurance sector in the region. Below is the full version
of his speech.

Since the adoption of the ASEAN Economic Community priority sectors, including financial sector integration
(AEC) Blueprint in 2007, the overall structure of ASEAN under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services
economies has been changing with the growing share (AFAS) - to serve as a catalyst for overall ASEAN economic
of the services sector - which has gradually increased to integration.
reach 50.1% in 2014.
Under the AEC Blueprint, the financial integration
The share of foreign direct investment in the services framework is set to achieve a well-integrated and well-
sector has also steadily increased. ASEAN’s economic functioning regional financial system to facilitate greater
performance remained resilient in 2014 achieving growth trade and investment flows in the region.
of 4.7%. While the global outlook is projected at 3.3% in 2015,
ASEAN is projected to sustain its growth momentum in 2015 Freeing up financial services
at 4.4% before accelerating to 4.9% in 2016 (IMF, October
2015; and ADB, September 2015). The ASEAN Finance Ministers have made significant
progress in regional financial integration facilitated
In working towards the AEC by the end of this year, ASEAN through the Roadmap for Monetary and Financial
has pursued its regional economic integration by focusing Integration of ASEAN (RIA-FIN), endorsed in 2003, which
its effort on deepening and accelerating integration in the established the route towards integration of financial

Dr Aun Porn Moniroth (6th from left), Cambodia’s Minister of Economy & Finance, Back to Contents
alongside insurance regulators from ASEAN member states.

20 AEC – IMPACT ON INSURANCE • DECEMBER 2015