Broader talk on Asian financial regulation needed: S Korean official
Asian countries should embark on broader discussions on financial regulation to prevent recurrence of the financial crisis, a South Korean official said here on Monday.
Yi Jong-goo, Standing Commissioner of Financial Services Commission of South Korea, told Xinhua on the sideline of the Seventh East Asia Congress here.
Yi said that after the financial crisis that originated from the United States, Asia became more important as five Asian countries were included in the G-20.
G-20, or the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 economies. China, South Korea, Japan, India and Indonesia are its members.
Noting that there were many collaboration initiatives in the Asia including the "ASEAN+3" (ASEAN plus China, South Korea and Japan) and an integrated bond market, Yi said more could be done.
Yi said that specific reform needed to be devised and implemented and that opportunities to carry out such reform should not be wasted.
Yi also said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) should monitor the implementation of the reform to ensure consistent implementation of the new rules.
Earlier in his presentation, Yi pointed out that emerging market economies (EME) had greater interdependence on the advanced economies but current discussion of financial regulatory reform was advanced economy-oriented.
Yi said that EME's concerns must be considered and these included foreign exchange market stabilization in EME, stronger information sharing and reduction of moral hazard.
Yi also said that the roles of international financial institutions must be enhanced and the overlapping work areas between the IMF and the FSB needed to be clarified.
FSB's coordination function of opinions among national authorities and international standard setters must also be more efficient, added Yi.
When asked if a common currency mechanism would emerge in Asia, Yi said that this might take some time if it was to be established, as different countries had different development stages and fiscal situations.