ASEAN bankers will launch 2nd mutual fund

ASEAN bankers will launch 2nd mutual fund

NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): Bankers of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) endorsed yesterday a plan to launch its
second mutual investment fund, worth about US$150 million, to
support the growing business activities in the region.

The secretary-general of the ASEAN Bankers Association, Tay
Kah Chye, said that the mutual fund, to be called the Second
ASEAN Fund, would be offered to investors in ASEAN, Japan and
Europe next year.

"The bankers' association has established a special committee
to prepare the issuance of the fund and we hope the investment
facility could be launched in July," he told a press briefing at
the association's three-day council meeting, which was opened on
Thursday.

The meeting is being participated in by some 140 bank
executives from ASEAN countries -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.

The meeting approved the appointment of Wong Nang Jang, the
chairman of Singapore's Association of Banks, as chairman of the
association for the 1995-1997 term.

Tay said that the second mutual fund, which is to be listed on
one of the stock markets of the ASEAN countries, would be used to
buy stocks or bonds listed on the region's stock exchanges, as
well as securing equity participation in non-listed companies.

The association launched its first mutual fund in 1987,
through the Singapore-based ASEAN Finance Corp., a merchant bank
jointly owned by the association's members, to support businesses
in the region.

He said that the first mutual fund, which has invested in
stock markets and made direct investments in non-listed companies
in ASEAN's member countries, had booked significant gains.

The assets of the investment facility have nearly doubled from
their original value of $150 million, he said. (hen)