The move towards creating an Asian funds passporting regime has taken a further step.

Singapore, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, Philippines and Thailand have issued a joint consultation paper on rules on how to make a pan-Asian fund passporting system work, in a move potentially mirroring the now established UCITS cross-border structures familiar in the European Union.

The countries are looking at rolling out an Asia Region Funds Passport, or ARFP.

The proposed rules cover areas such as the eligibility and operational criteria for passport fund managers and passport funds, as well as the authorisation process for passport funds, according to a statement from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The rules set out standards and expectations amongst regulators from passport member economies on the supervision of passport funds, including the protection of investor interests.

The ability to buy and sell funds in different countries without having to separately register them in each jurisdiction has been a feature of the European UCITS regime for more than a decade and is often cited as an example of a successful single market reform in Europe.

Interested parties are invited to submit their views and comments to the Monetary Authority of Singapore by 10 April, the MAS said.