The SEACEN Centre

What The SEACEN Centre does

The SEACEN Centre (legal name: The South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) Research and Training Centre) is an intergovernmental research and training organization founded in 1982 and incorporated as a private company in Malaysia under Malaysian law. It is headquartered at Level 5, Sasana Kijang, 2 Jalan Dato' Onn, Kuala Lumpur, and operates as the regional learning hub for 20 central banks across the Asia-Pacific region, including those of Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The organization's product surface consists of interconnected knowledge services organized across three programmatic pillars — Macroeconomic and Monetary Policy Management; Financial Stability, Supervision, and Payments; and Leadership, Governance, and Human Capital. Core offerings include professional training courses (covering macroeconomic policy, financial stability, fintech regulation, supervisory frameworks, data analytics, and AI in financial services), periodic publications (Capital Flows Monitors, Research Project Reports, Policy Briefs, Working Papers, Occasional Papers, Staff Papers, and the SEACEN Financial Stability Journal), workshops and seminars, high-level governance meetings (Governors' Conference, Board of Governors, Directors of Research and Monetary Policy Meetings), collaborative research projects co-led with academics from institutions such as Columbia and Australian National University, the SUARA SEACEN thought leadership blog, a Spotify-hosted podcast, and a Visiting Research Economist fellowship program. There is no proprietary technology platform; outputs are knowledge products.

SEACEN's revenue model is built on two streams: recurring membership contributions from the 20 member central banks and professional-services-style training course fees paid by member and non-member central banks. The organization is owned collectively by its member central banks, with governance exercised through a Board of Governors (chaired in the most recent cycle by Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo), an Executive Committee, a Board of Directors (chaired by the Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia), and a Management Team led by Executive Director Dr. Cyn-Young Park. Distribution is direct to member institutions, with delivery through in-person courses hosted at member central bank locations, supplemented by webinars, social media channels (LinkedIn, X/Twitter, YouTube), and the SEACEN website.

Name

The SEACEN Centre

Legal name

The South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) Research and Training Centre

Website

https://seacen.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The SEACEN Centre is an intergovernmental research and training organization founded in 1982 in Kuala Lumpur that serves as the regional learning hub for 20 Asia-Pacific central banks, delivering professional training courses, collaborative policy research, and high-level governor conferences through member-funded contributions and course fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Central Banking Research and Training

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Support Services (61171), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Finance, Banking & Capital Markets (EDAAAPAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Project, Program & Portfolio Management Certifications (EDAAANAB)

Keywords

• Central bank research
• Central bank training
• Monetary policy training
• Financial stability research
• Asia-Pacific central banking

Headquarters

HQ city

Kuala Lumpur

HQ country

Malaysia

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Contributions: SEACEN operates as an intergovernmental organization with contributions from member central banks including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and Vietnam.
2. Training Course Fees: Fees from training courses offered to member and non-member central banks, including specialized courses on macroeconomic policy, financial stability, fintech, AI in financial services, and leadership.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The SEACEN Centre is a regional research and training institution serving as the learning hub for central banks across the Asia-Pacific region. It delivers professional training courses, conducts collaborative policy research, publishes working papers and policy briefs, and organizes high-level conferences and workshops for staff of its 20 member central banks. Core offerings include capacity building programs on macroeconomic and monetary policy management, financial stability and supervision, human capital, and leadership and governance.

Product overview

The SEACEN Centre is a regional research and training organization for central banks in the Asia-Pacific region, offering a portfolio of interconnected services including professional training courses (covering macroeconomic policy, financial stability, human capital, and leadership), periodic publications (Capital Flows Monitors, Research Reports, Policy Briefs, Working Papers, and the SEACEN Financial Stability Journal), workshops and seminars, high-level governance meetings (Governors' Conference, Board of Governors), collaborative research projects with member institutions, the SUARA SEACEN blog for thought leadership, and a podcast channel. The organization serves as a knowledge-sharing hub rather than a commercial product company, with all offerings designed to build central banking capacity across member institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Training Courses
• Collaborative Research Projects
• High-Level Meetings and Conferences
• Workshops and Seminars
• Publications and Research Reports
• Visiting Research Economist (VRE) Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• The 46th SEACEN Directors of Research and Monetary Policy (DORM) Meeting concluded successfully with participants from all member central banks
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Prof. Hiro Ito (U.S. Dollar Dominance Research)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 August 2025Prof. Hiro Ito heads the SEACEN Centre Collaborative Research Project 1 for 2025 on U.S. Dollar Dominance in Trade Invoicing and Cross-Border Investments in SEACEN Economies, covering Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, and the Philippines.
• Prof. Jong-Wha Lee and Prof. Warwick McKibbin (AI and Human Capital Research)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 August 2025Prof. Jong-Wha Lee and Prof. Warwick McKibbin head the SEACEN Centre Collaborative Research Project 2 for 2025 on Artificial Intelligence, Human Capital, and Population Ageing.
• Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers, Kuala LumpurcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partnership for joint research projects on AI, human capital, and population ageing held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Bank Negara MalaysiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of SEACEN headquarters and SEACEN-BNM Workshop on Economic Modeling held at Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia. Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia serves as Chair of SEACEN Board of Directors.
• Bank Indonesia InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEACEN-BI Policy Seminar on Digital Financial Assets hosted by Bank Indonesia Institute in Bali, Indonesia in June 2026. Governor Perry Warjiyo serves as Chair of SEACEN Board of Governors.
• Bangko Sentral ng PilipinascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of SEACEN-BSP Legal Governance Summit held in Cebu, Philippines in April 2026, focusing on legal governance challenges facing central banks.
• OECDmajorTechnology or IntegrationCollaboration with OECD to create a new sectoral capital flows dataset, featured in the SEACEN Capital Flows Monitor 2020 publication.
• International Monetary FundmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMF contributes speakers to SEACEN events including Marco Gross at the SEACEN-BI Policy Seminar on Digital Financial Assets. Dr. Poonam Gupta from RBI represents India at SEACEN EXCO.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ADB Institute: The Asian Development Bank Institute conducts research and capacity-building programs on economic and development issues across Asia, including macroeconomic and financial sector topics relevant to central banks. It is a regional peer with broader development focus and larger scale than SEACEN.
• IMF Institute for Capacity Development: The IMF's training arm delivers macroeconomic, monetary policy, and financial sector courses to officials from member countries, including many that overlap with SEACEN's Asia-Pacific members. It competes for the same training budget allocations within central banks but offers a global curriculum and concessional pricing.
• Bank for International Settlements (BIS): The BIS hosts the FSI (Financial Stability Institute) and BIS Innovation Hub, providing training, research, and policy forums for global central banks. It is the most direct analogue to SEACEN's central bank capacity-building model, though operating at global rather than regional scale and with substantially larger resources.
• World Bank Group — Financial Stability and Financial Sector Development: The World Bank delivers financial sector advisory, training, and technical assistance to central banks and regulators globally, including across SEACEN's member jurisdictions. It is a broad incumbent with deeper resources but less Asia-Pacific specialization.
• Federal Reserve Board — International Finance / Learning programs: The Federal Reserve runs international training programs and technical assistance for foreign central bank officials, particularly from emerging markets. It is a broad incumbent in central bank capacity building with deep faculty and curriculum resources, though not a regional peer in the same membership-based model.

Regional players

• Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI): MEFMI is the regional training and research institute for central banks in Eastern and Southern Africa, modeled similarly to SEACEN with member-funded training and capacity building. It is a structural peer operating in a different regional geography.
• Middle East Financial Training (MEFT) / Gulf Monetary Council: Regional central bank cooperation and training bodies in the Middle East, such as those affiliated with the Gulf Monetary Council, perform similar capacity-building functions for their member central banks. They are structurally similar peers operating in a different geography.

Direct peers

• Centro de Estudios Monetarios Latinoamericanos (CEMLA): CEMLA is the regional training and research centre for Latin American central banks, structurally near-identical to SEACEN's model for Asia-Pacific. It is the closest organizational analogue worldwide, serving a different geography but the same functional purpose.
• Toronto Centre: Toronto Centre provides training and policy guidance to financial supervisors and central banks globally, including in emerging markets. It is a direct peer in central bank capacity building, though its geographic focus and funding model differ from SEACEN's Asia-Pacific intergovernmental structure.

Others

• Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB): AICB is a Malaysia-based professional banking certification body that is an active SEACEN research partner (joint research on AI, human capital, and population ageing). It is adjacent in serving banking-sector professionals in the region but focuses on commercial banking certifications rather than central bank policy training.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/seacencentre
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SEACENCentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-seacen-centre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The SEACEN Centre