Asian finance ministers plan joint rescue funds
Regional finance ministers met yesterday on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank gathering to formally announce the setting up of joint funds to beat the global economic crisis.
Ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus key partners China, Japan and South Korea, are to meet May 2-3 on the Indonesian island of Bali, said Somchai Sajjapongse from Thailand's fiscal policy office.
"On May 2 there's going to be a meeting of deputy finance ministers and on May 3 the ASEAN + 3 finance ministers will meet," Somchai told AFP.
The meeting would formally announce the establishment of a regional emergency fund, he said.
The "Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation" is an expansion of the Chiang Mai Initiative -- a bilateral currency swap scheme set up after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.
Under the new scheme, the swaps will be multilateral, making it easier for countries under stress to borrow emergency funds.
“Since the last meeting the ministers have agreed on the main elements of (it) and expect to have a conclusion at the Bali meeting," he said.
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