| Sumario: | Part of a special section on offshore investment. New technology has significantly improved the infrastructure of Asia's stock exchanges, thereby increasing their efficiency. The introduction of automated systems, central clearing houses, and electronic book entry rather than physical delivery of share certificates has created a competitive advantage for those exchanges that have invested in this new structure. Nevertheless, in some cases there has been considerable domestic opposition from local players who benefited from previous inefficiencies. Although the introduction of greater efficiency and transparency in the physical infrastructure can work against the interests of foreigners in certain cases, minimum standards and rules must be implemented if markets are serious about attracting foreign capital.
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