Asian turmoil not a risk for financial services agreement

Asian turmoil not a risk for financial services agreement

GENEVA (AFP): Southeast Asia's stockmarket turmoil will not
derail moves to sew up an agreement liberalizing global financial
services by the mid-December deadline, World Trade Organization
director general Renato Ruggiero said here Tuesday.

"We do not have any negative sign on (Southeast Asian
nations') position, " Ruggiero told AFP, insisting there was
"positive movement" to clinch a deal.

Malaysia and Indonesia promised at meetings in Geneva earlier
this month they would put forward offers that provided greater
access for foreigners to their banking and insurance markets by a
key Nov. 12 meeting here.

Thailand, the sickest Southeast Asian nation, said it would
try its best to put in a package granting foreigners a more level
playing field in its national financial services markets.

Ruggiero is leaving Wednesday for Kuala Lumpur to attend a
meeting of 15 developing countries (G15) on November 3.

Indonesia's and Malaysia's heads of state have confirmed their
participation and Ruggiero said he would be talking to Southeast
Asian governments.

"My message will be, let us have the courage to move on
because this is a good moment to make a financial service
negotiation that which will strengthen the solidity and
efficiency of financial institutions."

"I do believe that the success of the negotiations will help
to recover market stability," he said.

There was no pressure to extend the December 12 deadline, he
said.

Trade negotiators were optimistic several weeks ago about the
chances of wrapping up the negotiations successfully. The United
States scuppered a deal in 1995 because it deemed that fast-
growing economies, particularly those in Southeast Asia, had been
too stingy in their offers.

Washington wants U.S. firms to be granted equal treatment with
domestic firms in national markets.

Ruggiero was speaking on the sidelines of a two-day high-level
meeting for the world's 48 so-called least developed countries
(LDCs) sponsored by the WTO and five other inter-governmental
agencies, including the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund.

This group will go home with some trade sweeteners in their
pockets in the form of promises by the world's richest nations to
remove or lower duties on their exports.

The aim of the meeting, which ended Tuesday was to launch
initiatives to bring the poorest nations into the global trade
mainstream.

"This theme -- free access for LDC (exports into developed
nations) -- will be one of the major issues of negotiations that
begin in 1999," Ruggiero said.