APEC finance ministers to focus on stability<\/p>\n
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (AFP): An Asia-Pacific finance ministers
\nmeeting in Brunei this week, scheduled to focus on securing
\neconomic stability, will have a strong undercurrent of
\nrevitalizing APEC's reputation, officials say.<\/p>\n
The financial heavyweights from the 21-member Asia Pacific
\nEconomic Cooperation forum will meet here from Thursday in a
\nfour-day think tank that has been saddled with the reputation of
\nan ineffectual talkfest.<\/p>\n
And despite the full APEC leaders' summit in November carrying
\nthe theme of "making APEC matter more," the organization
\nacknowledges that with the worst of the 1997 financial crisis
\nbehind it, there are few headline grabbing issues this year.<\/p>\n
"Right now it's more of a talk shop," said a regional
\neconomist at a European bank who preferred not to be named.<\/p>\n
"They will probably discuss the need to work closer but don't
\nexpect any concrete proposals."<\/p>\n
APEC, slammed by some economic observers as losing relevance
\nas an economic grouping, admits to struggling to find core common
\ntopics in the forthcoming meeting.<\/p>\n
No official agenda has been publicly released but topics will
\ninclude training for financial regulators, the stability of the
\nfinancial system and the promotion of free and stable capital
\nflows among member economies, an APEC media official told AFP.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, still struggling to steer its battered economy out
\nof the doldrums, is expected to be under the spotlight after the
\nswearing in of its new cabinet dominated by people close to
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid and from the military, observers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Although APEC may have mounted a relentless bid to open up
\ntrade, officials readily admit a lack of effort in getting the
\nmessage across to the public.<\/p>\n
"We're basically saying we haven't done enough, that's why we
\nhave to push it," said Lim Jock Seng, a senior foreign ministry
\nofficial in Brunei which holds the APEC chair.<\/p>\n
"We want to spread APEC further, to the young businessmen,
\nwomen in business, the youth ... the question is, how do we do
\nit?"<\/p>\n
There are concerns that member countries, lulled by a sense of
\ncomplacency that economic fundamentals are back to pre-crisis
\nlevels, would let slip the opportunity to map out a cohesive
\nframework to avert a crisis similar to that of 1997.<\/p>\n
Eisuke Sakakibara, Japan's former vice minister of finance who
\nwas once called "Mr Yen" for his influence in financial markets,
\nsaid the regional recovery should not mask the need for a defense
\nmechanism.<\/p>\n
He said complacency in the U.S. and Asia was dangerous, and
\ncalled for accelerated efforts to strengthen banking and
\nfinancial systems and corporate governance.<\/p>\n
Observers said that would a near-to-impossible task to achieve
\ngiven the members' differing views on what exactly was needed.<\/p>\n
As part of a defense mechanism, Sakakibara called for the
\nsetting-up of an Asian Monetary Fund, although idea has
\npreviously met stiff resistance from the U.S.<\/p>\n
The fund, first proposed during the Asian crisis by Japan, was
\nopposed by the U.S. and European countries on worries it could
\nundermine the authority of the International Monetary Fund.<\/p>\n
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum groups Australia,
\nBrunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South
\nKorea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the
\nPhilippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United
\nStates and Vietnam.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/apec-finance-ministers-to-focus-on-stability-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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