At the 40th General Assembly of the Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchanges Federation (AOSEF), hosted this week by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), top financial leaders from Hong Kong have called for deeper cross-market coordination across the Asia-Oceania region to unlock greater access to international capital. The three-day gathering, which concluded this week, brought more than 100 delegates from 18 regional stock exchanges together to address pressing industry priorities: expanding cross-border connectivity, improving market liquidity, and strengthening the resilience of regional capital markets amid shifting global investment flows.
Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, laid out the core case for alignment in his opening keynote address on Wednesday. He noted that AOSEF’s 17 member exchanges collectively account for roughly one-third of total global stock market capitalization and are home to more than half of the world’s publicly listed companies. Despite this massive scale and economic significance, Chan pointed out that global institutional investors still face unnecessary complexity navigating fragmented regional markets when engaging with individual jurisdictions separately. “Our diversity is our strength, but only if we build the bridges that turn complexity into seamless accessibility,” Chan told assembled delegates.
Carlson Tong, Chairman of HKEX, echoed this vision, emphasizing that the ongoing global reallocation of capital toward Asian markets creates a one-of-a-kind window for regional collaboration. “By working together, we can create richer product ecosystems, advance market access and develop efficient infrastructure that helps build liquidity within Asia,” Tong said. Bonnie Y Chan, Chief Executive Officer of HKEX, added that the Hong Kong bourse is prioritizing the development of tailored products, integrated platforms, and strategic cross-border partnerships designed to simplify two-way market access for both investors and issuers across the region. These efforts, she noted, are aligned with the collective goal of advancing the overall development and global standing of Asia’s financial markets.
Founded to facilitate information sharing and collaborative action among member exchanges, AOSEF’s core mission is to drive sustainable growth of regional securities markets. In a closing announcement, delegates confirmed that the federation’s 41st General Assembly will be hosted in Beijing in 2027 by the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, marking another milestone in coordinated regional capital market development.