PETALING JAYA: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has held the inaugural Asean Regulatory Sustainability Summit, bringing together more than 40 senior policymakers, capital market regulators, academics and industry experts to discuss sustainability challenges facing the region and global financial markets.
The closed-door summit, held on Sept 9 in collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy at Durham University, was supported by the Asian Development Bank.
Participants included senior policymakers and capital market regulators from the Asean Capital Markets Forum (ACMF), as well as academics and industry experts from the UK, US and Asia-Pacific.
Held under the theme “Building Resilience while Navigating Global Shifts”, the summit sought to advance thought leadership and explore ways to strengthen resilience across Asean capital markets, building on the ACMF Action Plan 2026-2030.
Discussions focused on building country, market and corporate resilience amid emerging economic and sustainability pressures, mobilising private, concessional and philanthropic capital to finance climate adaptation and transition, and 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 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 in a statement.
Faiz said he hoped the summit would translate into meaningful action across Asean capital markets, adding that resilience should remain a priority even during difficult circumstances.
“I hope this Summit translates 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, Professor Petra Minnerop, associate pro-vice-chancellor (Sustainability) and founding director of the Durham Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy at Durham University, said the university was committed to advancing sustainability through teaching, research, impact and engagement.
She said Durham University valued its partnership with Asean capital market regulators and the SC, as well as its wider international collaborations across industry and the financial sector, to support implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through sustainable development projects.
