WB and ADB hold forum to discuss crisis

WB and ADB hold forum to discuss crisis

MANILA (AFP): The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were opening a conference of experts here yesterday against a backdrop of plunging regional currencies spooked by a standoff between Indonesia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

More than 350 international delegates are expected to dissect the Asian financial crisis in the latest of a series of meetings and seek ways to rebuild Asian economies trampled by the turmoil.

World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz said in a statement released ahead of the five-day meeting that the turmoil "was the result of a number of factors which have made these economies especially vulnerable to a sudden withdrawal of confidence."

He stressed that "restoring growth in East Asia requires restoring confidence," meaning setting up "an effective regulatory system, improving corporate governance and enhancing transparency more broadly."

The conference is being held amid worrying defiance by Indonesian President Soeharto of the IMF over Jakarta's alleged failure to comply with wide-ranging economic reforms in exchange for a multi billion dollar aid package.

The IMF on Friday announced in Washington that it would withhold the disbursement of the second bailout tranche worth three billion dollars.

The square-off left most Asian currencies weaker against the U.S. dollar midday Monday, as the market reacted negatively to news.

Indonesia's rupiah dived to 13,300 against the greenback upon opening of Asian trade in Singapore, before regaining its bearing at 12,300 and then to 11,500-levels by midday.

A World Bank statement on the conference said the regional turmoil has shown that "much remains to be done" to restore Asia's plunging growth trajectory following the collapse of financial systems, currencies and stock markets across the once- booming region from mid-1997.

The IMF has marshaled more than US$100 billion to bail out the Indonesian, South Korean and Thai economies in exchange for bitter economic reforms.

In Indonesia, the IMF sought radical reforms such as the dismantling of monopolies mostly controlled by the family of President Soeharto, reforming the financial sector and tight monetary policy.

Philippine President Fidel Ramos and Mitsuo Sato, head of the Manila-based ADB, are expected to address the opening of the five-day conference.

Plenary and special sessions as well as workshops involving 350 experts from the government and academia will begin on Tuesday.

"The Asia Development Forum is designed to provide an opportunity to the region's development community to discuss the unfinished agenda and evaluate development priorities for the next quarter-century," the World Bank statement said.

During the conference, the World Bank is expected to introduce a recent study entitled "Rethinking the East Asia Miracle" which tackled the links between past development policies and current socio-economic strains, organizers said.

Discussions will focus on "how the region can transcend its current economic turbulence and resume broad-based and poverty- alleviating growth."