Securities regulators from the Asia-Pacific region yesterday decided to set up a working party to gather information on hedge funds and examine the regulation of highly-leveraged activities. The 16 securities regulators of the Asia Pacific Regional Committee (APRC) of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (ISOCO) - including representatives from the mainland, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore - yesterday met in Hong Kong to review their approach to Asian market turbulence. The working party on hedge funds will contribute to and support similar studies within IOSCO and other forums. APRC members also decided to strengthen dialogue with banking regulators to improve market regulation. The meeting encouraged members to develop and adopt high corporate governance standards.