ASEAN Signs Protocol to Improve Investment Regimes

NAY PYI TAW, 26 August 2014 - ASEAN Economic Ministers signed the Protocol to Amend the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) last week in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

The main objective of the Protocol is to provide a mechanism to better facilitate ASEAN Member States (AMS) in modifying or amending their investment reservations in the Schedule of ACIA. The Protocol lays out a step-by-step process—with prescribed timelines—for the modification and amendment to investment reservations by AMS and its approval, which would contribute to greater certainty and transparency of ACIA implementation.

The Protocol shall form an integral part of the ACIA and shall enter into force after all AMS have completed their internal procedures for the entry into force of this protocol.

Upon entry into force of the Protocol, ASEAN Member States will be able to amend their respective reservation lists in an expedient manner hence better comply with their commitments under the ACIA; contributing to a key element of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) agenda of free flow of investment.

The Protocol can be downloaded here.