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To: Tim Luke who wrote (55203)	10/4/1998 11:27:00 PM
From: Edward J. Edwards, III	Respond to of 61433

Asia embraces Japan aid $30 billion package from Japan welcomed with stabilization pledges October 3, 1998: 11:25 a.m. ET Japanese confidence dives - Oct. 1, 1998 Japan to unveil bailout - Sept. 30, 1998 G7 Information Society Bank of Japan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cash-strapped Asian countries welcomed a $30 billion aid offer by Tokyo Saturday and said they would take steps to stimulate their beleaguered economies. Finance Ministers and central bank governors of embattled Asian nations met with Japanese officials in Washington before Japan's financial leaders were to meet with other members of the Group of Seven most industrialized nations later the same day. "To overcome the current difficulties, while avoiding the risk of falling into a deflationary spiral, they agreed that it is imperative for the Asian countries to take stimulative measures to put their economy on the path of recovery and sustainable growth," the six countries and Japan said in a joint statement. The officials from Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand also said they welcomed the Japanese offer of $30 billion in aid to help them rebuild economies battered by the financial crisis. "The countries concerned intend to immediately engage in bilateral discussions on how to implement the initiative," the statement said. The officials, in Washington for next week's crisis-focused International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings, also welcomed the recent improvement in exchange rates of Asian emerging market countries and agreed that the stability of exchange rates was important for stable and sustainable economic development. Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, who officially announced the $30 billion bailout plan, said Japan and other Asian nations agreed to stabilize their currencies to help achieve sustainable growth. "In the meeting, we agreed to pursue stable foreign exchange rates for sustainable economic growth in Asian nations," Miyazawa said. He gave no further details. Miyazawa said he hoped the $30 billion Japanese aid package for Asia would lead to wider use of the Japanese yen in the region and also to the creation of an Asian fund. Japan proposed forming such a fund in September 1997 to stop the spread of Asia's financial crisis. Its creation was blocked by a group of countries led by the United States, which worried its lending conditions would not be as strict as the International Monetary Fund's terms. "It is important to help Asian nations by boosting Japanese imports from the region," Miyazawa added. Unless the Asian economy recovers, Japan's economy will not recover either, he said.