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Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas Haegin who wrote (1764)	1/30/1998 11:33:00 AM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

Carla Anerson Hills on IMF bail-out [For personal use only] courtsey:NBR Thomas: Thanks for all that reposts,good info. For those of you who didn't see NBR last night here is the commentary by Carla Anerson Hills. Wasn't she Regan's Trade representative or Commerce Secretary or something??? She seems like a very informed and knowledgeable person. -------------------------------------------------------------------- CARLA ANDERSON HILLS, COMMENTARY: High on the Congressional agenda is whether to approve a $3.5 billion regular pledge and an additional $14.5 billion emergency pledge for the International Monetary Fund. The IMF extends credit in particular currencies to governments that need help in balancing their accounts. And it issues an interest bearing asset to the member nation who's currency is used. Following World War II, the United States pushed to create the IMF to help its allies and former foes with payment imbalances. In the intervening years IMF credit has contributed to the extraordinary growth of the global and U. S. economies without assessing our taxpayers. And we have drawn upon the fund more often than any other nation. Now the IMF has its hands full trying to prevent a financial melt down in the world's largest growth area, Asia. Foreign banks which lent billions to Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Korea for investments that have gone sour are fleeing. Currencies have plummeted. Banks in the region have stopped financing local businesses. And unemployment has skyrocketed. The IMF has promised substantial help to the afflicted governments conditioned on improved supervision of their banks. The goal is to restore confidence and stability as fast as possible. Some say its workout plans have flaws. But the IMF is the best protection we have. The United States will not be secure economically or strategically if the Asian turmoil persists or spreads. Congress should support our nation's pledge to the IMF. I'm Carla Anderson Hills. Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post-broadcast. The program is transcribed by

To: Thomas Haegin who wrote (1764)	1/30/1998 5:31:00 PM
From: Duke	Respond to of 9980

IMF official says Asia crisis can be contained BOSTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Asia's financial crisis can be contained, provided governments implement reform programs in full, a senior IMF official said on Friday. Shigemitsu Sugisaki, Deputy IMF Managing Director, also told Reuters that it was important and urgent to strengthen IMF resources. An agreement between Indonesia and its bank creditors should help restore confidence in Indonesia's banking system, he said. Sugisaki, one of three deputy managing directors at the IMF, was speaking to Reuters before giving a speech at a conference organized by the Harvard Business School. ''If the programs are implemented by the governments, with financial assistance from the international financial institutions and the national governments, together with the private bankers, it will be contained,'' Sugisaki said. He said the Asian loans -- the-IMF arranged international rescue deals worth well over $100 billion for Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea last year -- were strong programs with ''sufficient financing from public and private creditors.'' Sugisaki, speaking after top administration officials appealed to U.S. lawmakers to approve an additional $18 billion in U.S. funding for the IMF, said the fund needed to strengthen its resources. ''Certainly for the IMF to continue its role, which is unanimously supported by our shareholders, the strengthening of the IMF resources is important and urgent,'' he said. An agreement to give Indonesia extra time to pay its debts was ''a very important step, it will improve confidence in the Indonesian banking system,'' he added. Sugisaki also said he was impressed that long-serving Indonesian President Suharto had signed a revised reform program between Indonesia and the IMF. ''President Suharto himself signed the program, which is unusual. He is determined to implement the program and its implementation is proceeding. With these measures implemented we believe they could weather the storm,'' he said. Japan's economy was still sluggish, but recent measures on the budget, tax cuts and financial sector restructuring were ''not only in the interests of the Japanese economy itself, but in the world economy.''