News Brief No. 97/28a

News Brief: IMF Opens New Asia and Pacific Regional Office

December 5, 1997

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr. Michel Camdessus, officially opened the IMF’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific on Thursday, December 4, 1997. The Managing Director visited the new Regional Office in Tokyo and participated in other events organized to commemorate the occasion. The office reflects the IMF’s increasingly active role in the economic and financial development of the Asia and Pacific region. The Director of the office is Mr. Kunio Saito, who leads a staff of nine.

Commenting on the opening, Mr. Camdessus said: “The Office has an important role in ensuring continuity in the Fund’s dialogue with policy makers through various regional policy fora and facilitating regional and mutual surveillance activities. The staff of the Regional Office will analyze developments in financial markets, recognizing their important macroeconomic implications and will aim at deepening the understanding of the IMF’s economic policy perspectives in the Asia-Pacific region.”

The Asia-Pacific Office sponsored the Tokyo Dialogue on Financial Sector Issues on December 4, 1997. The Tokyo Dialogue brought together senior officials from ten emerging market economies including China; Hong Kong SAR; India; Indonesia; Korea; Malaysia; Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; Vietnam; and five international organizations including the IMF; Asian Development Bank; Basle Committee; Group of Deputies of the G10 and World Bank to discuss financial system soundness with a view to establishing a coordinated strategy. The meeting focused on the macroeconomic implications of financial sector issues, their relationship with capital account liberalization, and the scope for enhancing regional cooperation.

On Monday, December 8, the Regional Office will co-host with the Institute for International Monetary Affairs (IIMA) a Symposium on Capital Flows and Financial System Stability in Asia, in which the Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Shigemitsu Sugisaki, will represent the Fund. The symposium will review and assess current international capital flows and Asian financial markets, and discuss the future means of achieving financial system stability in Asia. It will examine the roots of the recent financial crisis, and the need for policy action at the national, regional, and international level.