An unofficial meeting held in Singapore on September 3, 2005, focused on several key topics of the Asia’s financial integration: common currency of Asian countries and integration of financial markets, according to Mizuho Corporate Bank.
The participants, senior officials of governments and central banks from Japan, China, Korea, ASEAN, India, Australia, and New Zealand, were almost same as those who will attend the first East Asia Summit held in coming December.
Given the IMF’s role in fostering international economic and financial stability, an executive director of IMF expressed strong support of Asia’s financial integration in order to solve the global economic imbalance such as US’s twin deficits and Asia’s excess savings.
Besides the other issues, fostering the Asian bond market has also been a focus.
First, Pan Asia Bond Index Fund was listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Subsequently, an investment fund, run on a local currency as government bond, was also listed on the other Stock Exchange located in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. Second Asia Bond Fund, worth USD 2 billion, established by eleven central banks and monetary authorities in East Asia and Oceania, was injected to the Asian bond market to bring in more individual and institutional investors.
Meanwhile, according to the currency swap agreement, Ministry of Finance of ASEAN +3, Japan, China, and Korea announced in May that the maximum funds put up in case of an emergency approximately doubled to USD 80 billion.
Finally, as regards to the linkage of stock market, the launch of negotiations for bilateral linkage among the markets in relevant countries has started.