'Mr. Yen' visits Malaysia

'Mr. Yen' visits Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Japanese Vice Minister for Finance Eisuke Sakakibara visits Malaysia to discuss ways to help stabilize faltering Asian economies, Malaysian officials said.

Sakakibara, better known as "Mr. Yen" for his influence on foreign-exchange markets, will hold talks with Malaysian Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim early Tuesday and meet with officials from the treasury and central bank, a finance ministry official said.

His visit is a "follow-up" to Anwar's trip to Tokyo last month where Malaysia had pushed Japan to play a more active role in defusing the regional economic crisis, the official said.

The two are expected to discuss the current conditions in Asia and the possibility of new stabilization measures, including ways to help resolve the Indonesian crisis, he said.

"Sakakibara may offer some form of financial arrangement or proposals to help expedite the recovery of regional economies," he added.