Philippine president says World Bank pledges US$10 bln for ASEAN
15/10/2008 17:30
The World Bank will contribute US$10 billion to a "standby facility" that
will aid Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members amid the global
financial crisis, the Philippine president said today.
President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo said the World Bank (WB) made the pledge after the
international financial institution, along with the International Monetary Fund
and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), agreed to establish a standby facility for
ASEAN countries with severe liquidity problems, Philippine TV GMA News
reported.
"They reached an understanding to establish a standby facility to
assist ASEAN countries who have severe liquidity problems," said the President,
adding that the Philippines is not one of them yet.
The facility can also be
used to purchase what "toxic assets" and recapitalized troubled financial
institutions and private companies, she added.
"The WB and the IMF will draft
the implementing mechanism as soon as possible, in consultation with ASEAN
finance ministers and central bank governors," President Arroyo
said.
President Arroyo said this as she assured local government executives
that the Philippines has been able to withstand so far the impact of the global
economic slowdown due to long-standing fiscal policies.
Earlier this week,
President Arroyo proposed a special ASEAN Plus Three meeting be held on how to
cushion the impact of the global economic slowdown.
The ASEAN Plus Three was
formed by leaders of the ASEAN and its counterparts from East Asia, namely
China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, with an aim to further strengthen and
deepen East Asian cooperation in economic, political and other fields. Besides
the Philippines, The 10-nation ASEAN comprises Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia,
Singapore, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Arroyo suggested that
the ASEAN Plus Three to convene on the sidelines of the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting
(ASEM) to be held in Beijing, China, on Oct. 24-25, to tackle the economic
turmoil sweeping all over the world.
As part of the Philippine government's
initiatives, the President said she had instructed Finance Secretary Margarito
Teves to convene a meeting with ASEAN economic ministers and come up with some
common actions to prepare for any contingencies that may happen in regional
countries.
Meanwhile, President Arroyo asked developing and emerging
countries to come up with a coordinated approach to cushion the impact of the
possible collapse of highly developed economy, while urging developed countries
to consider the interest of developing countries in their plans to prevent a
worldwide economic meltdown.
Xinhua
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