ANNEX – 2019 Deliverables
1. We welcome the completion of the Financial Inclusion Capacity Building Package and the OECD/ International Network on Financial Education (INFE) report on Financial Education in APEC economies initiated in 2018. We appreciate the leadership of Papua New Guinea and the Core team and the support of the APEC Policy Support Unit. We encourage member economies to continue the implementation of capacity building initiatives to advance financial inclusion in the region. We look forward to receiving in 2020 the regional note of the global 2019-20 OECD/INFE coordinated exercise to measure financial literacy and inclusion.
2. We appreciate the work of the ABAC and the Asia-Pacific Financial Forum (APFF) in developing the APEC Roadmap for a New Financial Services Data Ecosystem, the Strategy for the Digitalization of Trade and Supply Chain Finance, and Essential Elements of an Effective Personal Insolvency Regime. We encourage interested economies and international organizations to collaborate with the private sector in implementing them. We welcome the ABAC´s report and recommendations on financial inclusion and integration.
3. We welcome the holding of this year’s Asia-Pacific Financial Inclusion Forum (APFIF) in September 2019 in Japan, co-organized by the ABAC and the ADB Institute, in collaboration with the Foundation for Development Cooperation.
4. Recognizing the importance of financial infrastructure, particularly credit information, we welcome the “Workshop on Credit Reporting Systems” organized in October 2019 and thank the WBG, ABAC and other development partners for their continued support in this area.
5. We welcome the “Policy Discussion Seminar on FinTech and RegTech in APEC Economies”, organized in July 2019.
6. We take note of the “Seminar on Integrating Environmental, Social and Governance Factors in Investment Decisions” organized by Chile in October 2019 and its key takeaways. We commission the OECD to produce a compendium on the implementation of ESG in financial markets throughout the APEC region, looking at effective approaches and challenges.
7. We welcome the work of the Working Group on Regional Disaster Risk Financing Solutions for APEC Economies in 2019 to help member economies address the economic and financial risk caused by disasters. We welcome the hosting in March 2019 of the DRFI Study Course, organized by the Philippines, together with Japan and the ADB, which focused on the financial management-aspect of disaster risks.
8. We note the work of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and its recommendations.
9. We thank the WBG for its contribution and support throughout the year in advancing the DRFI activities. We also welcome the hosting in October 2019 of the APEC Seminar on Disaster Risk Finance: Enhancing Financial Risk Management Against Disasters organized by the Ministry of Finance of Chile and the WBG. We also note the WBG´s study on financing disaster resilience for infrastructure and the ADB/OECD assessment of the implications of technology and innovation for disaster risk management and financing and look forward to the submission of the final report in 2020 as well as possible follow-up work.
10. We commend the ABAC and the Asia-Pacific Financial Forum (APFF) for their contributions to the work of the Working Group on Regional Disaster Risk Financing Solutions for APEC Economies through inputs on the private sector role, initiating work on insurance-linked securities, developing case studies from the frontline on enabling technologies for enhancing DRFI, and preparations for activities to implement the Micro-insurance Roadmap endorsed by Finance Ministers in 2018. We encourage interested economies to collaborate with the Working Group in advancing these initiatives.
11. We welcome the report prepared by the OECD, in response to the Cebu Action Plan, on improving the capacity of APEC economies to tackle tax and other financial crime. We welcome the recent progress on addressing the tax challenges arising from digitalization of the economy by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS. We welcome the IMF/OECD 2019 Progress Report on Tax Certainty. We welcome the efforts in 2019 to promote tax certainty, exchange of information (EOI), capacity building and mutual support through the continued engagement with the Global Forum on Transparency and EOI for Tax Purposes and the establishment of the OECD Asia-Pacific Academy for Tax and Financial Crime Investigation in Japan.
12. To strengthen our efforts on tax capacity building, we look forward to the upcoming workshop “Advances in BEPS, exchange of information, transparency, tax certainty and promoting good tax practices” to be organized by Chile in March 2020. We welcome further efforts, including continuing OECD updates and another workshop on ongoing work in international taxation next year.
13. We look forward to the upcoming progress report to be delivered at our next meeting, from the OECD, in cooperation with other relevant international organisations to help us identify good practices enhancing the capacity of APEC´s regulatory frameworks to attract public and private investment in sustainable and inclusive infrastructure.
14. We welcome the public-private collaboration to make progress on the initiatives under the Cebu Action Plan and thank the APFF, the APFIF and the Asia- Pacific Infrastructure Partnership under the leadership of the ABAC for their valuable contributions. We encourage public sector stakeholders to actively collaborate with the private sector in further advancing these initiatives next year.
15. We welcome the approach with the Pacific Alliance’s Finance Ministers Council through the adoption of the Collaborative Initiative between APEC and Pacific Alliance on Financial Issues, which sets the basis for working in areas of common interest during the following years in order to consolidate efforts and avoid duplication of initiatives. We look forward to this effort advancing.
16 We welcome the final APEC/OECD package on Selected Effective Approaches to Financing Infrastructure in APEC Economies.
17. We task the OECD, with inputs from other relevant organisations, to produce a policy note on best practices and challenges in the use of digital tools in selected policy areas, by our next meeting.