Singapore meeting to focus on Asian crisis

Singapore meeting to focus on Asian crisis

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Capital controls and the liberalization
of financial systems in Asia will be the key focus of
discussions, both formal and informal, at a gathering of
international political and business leaders next week.

"The issue of what is happening to the process of financial
liberalization all over the region is a key issue," said Claude
Smadja, managing director of the World Economic Forum.

Smadja said the issue of capital controls would be "addressed
in many sessions. It is too bad that we don't have more officials
to present their point of view," he told reporters on Friday.

The Swiss-based WEF, together with Singapore's Economic
Development Board (EDB) is staging the Seventh East Asia Economic
Summit from October 12 to 14th in Singapore. The summit will have
700 international participants, Smadja said.

Philippines President Joseph Estrada, on his first visit to
Singapore, will be the keynote speaker at the summit which will
also be addressed by Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

Also present will be Hubert Neiss, the International Monetary
Fund's chief expert on Asia, the heads of central banks from New
Zealand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Malaysia and stock exchange
chiefs from Asian bourses.

A host of corporate chief executives from companies including
Jardine Matheson, Nestle of Switzerland, Korea's Daewoo Corp,
Novell Inc, Yamaha Corp and the Philippines Long Distance
Telephone (PLDT) will also address the conference.

Smadja said he was disappointed with the relatively small
turnout by senior European officials.

"I am very disappointed. I think that Europe has been missing
a historical opportunity in this crisis to strengthen its links
with East Asia," he said.

"Europe has said for many years it wanted to establish links
with East Asia. It was a golden opportunity for Europe to show
that it meant what it was saying."

"We have invited top officials from Europe to convey strong
messages about Europe's interest. I must say that we have not
been successful with respect to political leaders."

He said the absence of key officials from countries such as
Japan was for a different reason.

"The absence of some senior officials from different countries
is a good indication of the fact that in some countries they do
not feel fully confident about the kind of message they can
convey at this state," he said.

Japan's Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs
Eisuke Sakakibara is among those scheduled to appear who have
backed out.

"It is quite clear that in their countries, the debate that is
going on at the political level is not yet finished," he said.

Apart from Sakakibara, another no-show at the summit will
sacked Malaysian finance and deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim,
one of those invited. Anwar is in jail awaiting trial on charges
of sodomy and corruption which he denies.

The theme of the WEF summit is the Asian crisis and the "new
economic landscape in Asia".

Smadja said the summit was aimed partly at restoring a
balanced perspective of the Asian crisis.

"We strongly believe that has happened in the last 15 months
was definitely a process of overreaction and over-adjustment to
the problems which existed," he said.

"There is an Asian miracle. It now is in parenthesis. There
will be an Asian miracle after the phase that we are going
through."