ASEAN To Re-establish Swap Arrangement To Enhance Financial Safety, Resilience - Joint Statement

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 (Bernama) -- ASEAN is looking forward to re-establishing the ASEAN Swap Arrangement (ASA) to strengthen the region’s financial safety net and resilience, according to a joint statement from the 12th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM).

The statement noted that the regional bloc encourages further collaboration to expand financial access and enhance liquidity management, supporting intra-ASEAN trade and investment, through the endorsed Model Operating Guidelines for Local Currency Transaction Framework in ASEAN.

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“We reaffirm our commitment to financial stability and deepening regional integration, and we welcome the support of the United Kingdom (UK) for the finance sector’s End-Term Review of the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025.

“As we transition to the ASEAN Strategic Plan 2026-2030, we are encouraged to build on existing collaboration while advancing innovative and forward-looking synergies to support the realisation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045,” it said.

On taxation, ASEAN expressed support for ongoing efforts to strengthen cooperation through the completion and refinement of bilateral tax treaties among ASEAN Member States.

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“We must share knowledge on the implementation of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) Pillar 2 and advance discussions on tax transparency initiatives to strengthen cooperation between member states.

“Malaysia’s proposal for a Tax Identification Number (TIN) framework will also improve information exchange under the Common Reporting Standard, ensuring greater accuracy in tax compliance across ASEAN,” it noted.

Furthermore, ASEAN emphasised the importance of combating financial crime, fraud, and scams through coordinated regional efforts, enhanced information-sharing mechanisms, and contributions to global discourse.

The bloc reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening cross-border payment oversight, expanding instant payment linkages, and enhancing cybersecurity to mitigate risks associated with digital transactions.

“To promote safety in the financial system, we emphasise the importance of coordinated regional efforts, to combat financial crime, fraud, and scams.

“In this regard, financial regulators and banks across ASEAN have agreed to collaborate on developing a regional ecosystem to fight fraud and scams, integrating both pre- and post-scam mitigation strategies to address evolving threats,” it added.

-- BERNAMA