ASEAN Finance Ministers first met in Phuket, Thailand, in March 1997, heeding the ASEAN Leaders’ decision that ASEAN shall move towards greater economic integration by building on existing economic cooperation activities, initiating new areas of cooperation and promoting closer cooperation in international fora. This meeting highlighted the importance of a concrete and closer cooperation in the area of finance as part of the building block to realise ASEAN’s goal of greater economic integration.

 

At the height of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998, the ASEAN Surveillance Process was established as a mechanism for peer review among senior officials and Finance Ministers to facilitate closer collaboration on economic developments and policy issues in ASEAN.

 

In 2003, the Roadmap for ASEAN Integration in Finance (RIA-Fin) was established to further deepen ASEAN’s financial and monetary integration by 2015. The roadmap covers the (i) development of the ASEAN capital markets; (ii) liberalisation of the financial services; and (iii) liberalisation of the capital account

 

In March 2015, the 1st Joint Meeting of the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (AFMGM) was convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Held during the 19th ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting, it served as a strategic channel to deliberate on key issues of common concern and to widen the extent of discussions on policy dialogue on monetary and financial stability issues. The 1st Joint Meeting also reiterated their support for the activities under the Roadmap for Monetary and Financial Integration in ASEAN, which in turn would sustain the goals of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 and beyond.

In 2016, the 2nd AFMGM in Vientiane, Lao PDR, endorsed the Strategic Action Plans (SAPs) of the ASEAN Financial Integration 2016-2025. The SAPs included the promotion of financial integration, financial inclusion and financial stability in ASEAN and are in line with the ASEAN Economic Community Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. It also includes policy actions, targets and milestones to guide the implementation of the finance sector’s integration initiatives. Complementing this, at the 3rd AFMGM in 2017, the ministers and central bank governors adopted a monitoring and evaluation framework for the effective implementation of the AEC Blueprint 2025.

The ASEAN Finance is actively pursuing cooperation in various areas.

On further integration and resilience enhancement, ASEAN is working to re-establish the ASEAN Swap Arrangement (ASA), a multilateral currency swap arrangement, which was an early symbol of ASEAN financial integration first introduced in 1977. ASEAN is also working to promote greater use of local currencies in trade and investment, with the added benefit of greater resilience to market stress, through the implementation of the ASEAN Local Currency Transaction (LCT) Framework. Works are also being done in expanding payment linkages, with a particular focus on expanding the QR payment transaction.

On capital market development, the 12th AFMGM endorsed the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) Action Plan 2026–2030. The Action Plan focuses on sustainability, financial empowerment, enhanced regional integration, global competitiveness, and digitalisation.

Efforts are also being made to advance cooperation in taxation and treasury functions. The First ASEAN Treasury Forum (ATF) was launched in Bali in October 2024. The forum created working groups in public expenditure management, cash management, government accounting/reporting, and digital public financial management—key platforms for best-practice exchanges. ASEAN member states are making strides for enhanced bilateral treaties, raising BEPS Pillar 2 awareness, and implementing the Tax Identification Number (TIN) framework under the Common Reporting Standard.

The ASEAN Finance Track is also concerned with the sustainability issues. Since 2022, through the ASEAN Taxonomy Board (ATB), ASEAN has launched and regularly updated the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance, a common language and classification system for sustainable activities and projects across ASEAN Member States. Furthermore, the 12th AFMGM endorsed the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF) 2025–2028 Action Plan, which features strategic priorities such as expanding financing capacity, competitiveness, new facilities, and increased visibility and partnerships for enhanced sustainable infrastructure financing in ASEAN member states.

In implementing its mandate, the ASEAN Finance Track continuously reflects and makes efforts to make its process more effective and efficient. “Project Revive” initiative was launched in 2025 to improve governance, structural alignment, and process synergy—paving the way for agile and efficient policy coordination aligned with the ASEAN Strategic Plan 2026–2030 and the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.