Noticia nº26.454

/noticias.info/ A high-level conference on the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in supporting financial sector development in Asia was held during October 11-12 in Kuala Lumpur. The conference was hosted jointly by Bank Negara Malaysia and the IMF. Participants included senior officials from central banks, ministries of finance, and financial sector regulatory agencies from around the region.1

The objective of the conference was for the IMF to listen to the views of senior officials on the progress being made in the development of the financial sectors in Asia and how the IMF could best support their efforts to facilitate this process. In addition to covering the IMF's traditional surveillance activities, the conference addressed the role of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP)2 as well as technical cooperation issues. Particular attention was paid to how the IMF could assist with ongoing efforts to identify financial sector issues of regional importance and analyze the implications of growing interdependencies for financial systems. A range of useful suggestions were made on how the IMF could better focus its work in the region, working in close partnership with Asian members of the IMF.

It was agreed that a similar dialogue between regional members and the IMF would continue in the future.


1 Senior officials from China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, participated in the conference.

2 The FSAP is a joint IMF-World Bank initiative to provide member countries with a comprehensive evaluation of their financial systems. The program was launched in 1999 and aims to alert national authorities to likely vulnerabilities in their financial sectors-whether originating from inside the country or from outside sources-and to assist them in the design of measures that would reduce these vulnerabilities.


13/10/2004