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Asian Development Bank promotes Asian regionalism to boost trade, stability

MADRID, Spain – 05/13/08 – Countries in Asia must boost their inter-regional economic ties and improve market surveillance “to foster financial stability and economic prosperity,” according to a study released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at its recent annual meeting in the Spanish capital.

"Emerging Asian regionalism offers a new platform for economic development that is " said ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda, while announcing the publication of a new book, Emerging Asian Regionalism – A Partnership for Shared Prosperity, at the bank's annual gathering."

The dynamic and outward-looking style of Asian regionalism will have a significant impact on our increasingly globalized economy," he said.

Asian regionalism can be a stabilizing factor when shocks arise, whether they come from within the region or outside, said several speakers at a panel discussion on the book.

They said the financial crisis of 1997-98 underscored Asia's interdependence and shared interests, and gave a strong impetus to emerging Asian regionalism. The region is becoming increasingly interconnected through trade, finance and macroeconomic links.

"Our experience suggests that regional and global economic integration and cooperation helps build stronger and more resilient economies, and this excellent study explores a number of ways we can achieve this," said Anggito Abimanyu, deputy finance minister of Indonesia.

The book highlights the fact that Asia is less integrated in finance than in trade, but financial markets are now larger, deeper and more sophisticated than they were a decade ago.

The ADB study urges policy-makers to strengthen supervision, surveillance and dialogue on financial markets through creation of a new high-level "Asian Financial Stability Dialogue."

The challenge facing Asian policy makers "is to monitor global and regional developments closely and to be prepared to act together if region wide responses are appropriate," the book says.

The views expressed in the study were echoed by finance ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as China, Japan, and South Korea.

After a meeting under the so-called ASEAN+3 mechanism on the sidelines of the ADB's annual meeting, the finance ministers cited vulnerability of financial markets as one of the major risks to their economies, while calling for better financial cooperation.

"The financial markets in Asia have become more interdependent with increasing cross-border financial transactions," they said in a joint statement.
They added that they “recognize the importance of continuing to enhance communication among authorities responsible for macroeconomic policies and financial supervision in the region.”

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