DURHAM (United Kingdom) — The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) hosted the inaugural ASEAN Regulatory Sustainability Summit in collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy, Durham University, on Sept 9.
Supported by the Asian Development Bank, the closed-door summit brought together more than 40 participants, including senior policymakers and capital market regulators from the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF), as well as academics and leading industry experts from the United Kingdom, the United States and the Asia-Pacific region.
Held under the theme “Building Resilience while Navigating Global Shifts”, the summit focused on addressing pressing sustainability challenges facing ASEAN and the wider international financial community.
The discussions explored ways to strengthen country, market and corporate resilience amid emerging economic and sustainability pressures, as well as strategies to mobilise private, concessional and philanthropic capital to finance climate adaptation and transition.
Participants also examined the evolving architecture of voluntary carbon markets, with emphasis on strengthening financial market integrity.
SC Chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi said resilience was about balancing the risks faced with the level of preparedness to address them.
“Resilience is the balance between the risks we are exposed to and our preparedness for them. This gap is precisely where capital market and regulators can and must act on,” he said.
He expressed hope that the summit would translate into meaningful action across ASEAN capital markets.
“ASEAN recognises that resilience is not a commitment reserved for good times, but one that can sustain us even in difficult circumstances,” he said.
Meanwhile, Durham University Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Sustainability) and Founding Director of the Durham Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy Professor Petra Minnerop said the university was committed to advancing sustainability through teaching, research, impact and engagement.
She said the university valued its partnership with ASEAN capital market regulators and the SC, as well as international collaborations involving industry and the financial sector, to support the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through sustainable development projects.
