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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Stock Market devider SEC takes over as chair of ASEAN Capital Markets Forum

SEC takes over as chair of ASEAN Capital Markets Forum

Published Nov 21, 2025 12:12 pm  |  Updated Nov 21, 2025 01:21 pm
SEC Chairman Francis Lim joins fellow ASEAN securities regulators at the ACMF Chairs Meeting, held from November 4 to 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where SC Malaysia officially handed over the chairship to the SEC Philippines. (Photo courtesy of ACMF Secretariat)
SEC Chairman Francis Lim joins fellow ASEAN securities regulators at the ACMF Chairs Meeting, held from November 4 to 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where SC Malaysia officially handed over the chairship to the SEC Philippines. (Photo courtesy of ACMF Secretariat)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines has officially assumed the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Capital Markets Forum (ACMF), following the handover ceremony earlier this month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Taking the helm from the Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia, the SEC Philippines continues ASEAN’s shared commitment to regional integration, inclusion, sustainability, and cooperative enforcement, in line with the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship next year.
“As we accept this responsibility, we do so with humility and gratitude, mindful that the ACMF is not the work of one chairman, one country, or one term,” SEC Philippines Chairperson Francis Lim said in his acceptance speech.
He noted that, “It is the collective endeavor of a region bound by shared aspirations—prosperity with inclusivity, growth with integrity, and progress with sustainability.”
“This handover is not just a change of hands. It is a renewal of our shared commitment to the ASEAN way [of] consultation, consensus, and cooperation... As the Philippines takes the helm, we will steer it with steadiness and solidarity,” Lim added.
Formed in 2004 under the auspices of ASEAN finance ministers, ACMF is mandated to develop a “deep, liquid, and integrated regional capital market.”
It implements initiatives in a pragmatic approach, allowing its member states to participate in regional activities depending on their market readiness in recognition of their differing development levels.
Under the chairmanship of SC Malaysia, ACMF made significant developments in capital market sustainability and inclusivity with the adoption of ACMF action plan 2026 to 2030, and publication of ASEAN simplified environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure guide for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), ASEAN voluntary carbon market, and mitigation co-benefit and adaptation for resilience (mARs) whitepaper in support of ASEAN taxonomy.
In line with the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship theme, “Navigating our Future, Together,” the SEC Philippines will prioritize strengthening integrity, deepening coordination on supervision, enforcement, and corporate governance, and fostering the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence to improve trust toward capital markets in the region.
It will also focus on accelerating financing for sustainable activities in mitigation and resilience by developing the first phase of the mARs guide and developing a code of conduct for external reviewers of sustainable finance products, among others.
SEC Philippines will further support the development of the capital market financial literacy toolkit to serve as a common reference for implementing targeted education initiatives that are regionally aligned yet responsive to the needs of the individual ASEAN member states.
“As we embark on this new chapter, let us reaffirm the founding spirit of ASEAN—cooperation, harmony and shared prosperity. Let us move forward as one, building capital markets that are trusted by investors, resilient in crisis, and rooted in the values that make ASEAN a community of hope and strength,” Lim said.

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