ASIC is inviting the Australian funds management industry to contribute to a review of the Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP) through a short survey.

The ARFP is a multilateral framework intended to support the development of an Asia-region funds management industry through improved market access and regulatory harmonisation. It allows collective investment products offered in one participating economy to be sold to retail investors in another participating economy.

The survey will focus on the level of industry interest and/or preparedness to use the ARFP and the factors informing industry decisions about the ARFP.

The Australian funds management industry can access the survey at: https://surveys.asic.gov.au/surveys/ARFPSurvey. It will remain open for three weeks from Tuesday 25 October, closing on Tuesday 15 November 2022.

Further details about the review of the ARFP can be found at: News and resources | Asia Region Funds Passport (apec.org).

Background

The Joint Committee of the Asia Region Funds Passport will review the ARFP as provided for in the Memorandum of Cooperation. The review involves seeking feedback from the funds management industry in each of the member economies. They are Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and the Republic of Korea.

The ARFP has been implemented in Australia through amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 and the Corporations (Passport) Rules 2018. ASIC is responsible for the administration of the ARFP in Australia under the Corporations Act 2001.