1. CONFERENCE ON REFORMING THE ASIA-PACIFIC FINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE Session B-2 Dusit Thani Manila Hotel Makati City, Philippines 12 November 2015 Dr. James Ding, Convenor of SELI, Deputy Principal Government Counsel, Department of Justice, Hong Kong, China

2. Background  On 5 February 2015, APEC Economic Committee (EC) decided to establish a new Friend of the Chair (FotC) Group on Strengthening Economic and Legal Infrastructure (SELI), which is coordinated by Hong Kong, China.  All 21 APEC member economies are invited to nominate legal advisors or officials with legal background from their relevant authorities and agencies to join SELI. So far, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and the United States have designated representatives to join SELI.

3. Objectives of SELI  1. To raise awareness of the role and importance of legal infrastructure for economic developments;  2. To promote understanding of relevant international standards and international instruments useful for strengthening the economic and legal infrastructure of member economies; and  3. To identify areas for technical cooperation and capacity building among APEC member economies (in collaboration with international organizations such as HCCH and UNCITRAL).

4. Scope of Operation (1)  SELI is to serve as a network of focal points for relevant legal advisors and officials: (i)To exchange information on legal infrastructure relevant to economic developments (including sharing of their law and practice in the relevant fields); (ii)To develop and enhance in-depth understanding of international economic law including relevant international instruments such as the Hague Conventions and UNCITRAL instruments;

5. Scope of Operation (2) (iii)To share experience and expertise on activities relevant to the implementation of these international instruments and to develop good practice guides in specific legal areas; (iv)To identify areas for capacity building and technical cooperation on the implementation of international instruments or improvement to legal infrastructure essential to economic developments;

6. Scope of Operation (3) (v)To examine, when possible, the importance of legal infrastructure on trade and investment flows; (vi)To develop and review appropriate action plans, when necessary; and (vii)To do outreach and public relations to APEC Stakeholders on the achievements of the group as and when appropriate.

7. Scope of Operation (4)  In collaborating with other relevant APEC fora and the legal sector in member economies, SELI will serve as a forum: (i) To coordinate and discuss as appropriate the implementation of cooperative initiatives such as but not limited to Structural Reform with other relevant APEC fora (including other FotCs) and relevant international organizations; (ii) To report progress and outcomes of each cooperative initiative to the EC, and when necessary make recommendations thereto; and (iii) To invite when appropriate other relevant APEC fora, such as ABAC, and/or other relevant experts to participate in/or observe the group’s activities.

8. SELI and FIDN  Possible contributions by SELI in relation to strengthening financial infrastructure of member economies: (a) Exchange information and experience sharing on the law and reform on secured transactions (b) Capacity building for member economies to develop and enhance understanding of relevant international legal instruments e.g. US project on “Assessing APEC Getting Credit and Enforcing Contracts Frameworks according to International Best Practices (including UNCITRAL and Hague Conference Texts)” in 2015/16 and a possible project by Hong Kong, China on “Use of International Instruments to Strengthen Contract Enforcement in Supply Chain Finance for global businesses (including MSMEs)” in 2017

9. Conclusion  SELI will collaborate with international organizations such as HCCH and UNCITRAL as well as APEC fora, such as ABAC and FIDN in strengthening the economic and legal infrastructure, including the financial infrastructure of APEC member economies.  SELI will build awareness of private international law instruments and encourage wider use of them, for example, in relation to secured transactions.

10. END Thank you! Email: jamesding@doj.gov.hk