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To: John Hunt who wrote (29346)	3/3/1999 9:16:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116906

Asia wants aid to fight computer hell Shanghai: Will Y2K bring its economy to the brink of collapse? Eighteen nations from the Asia-Pacific region have made an international appeal for millions of dollars in aid to help them solve the potential technological nightmare posed by the millennium bug. Malaysia, alone, wants $100m in aid to help pay for its battle against the bug which is threatening computer systems globally. The request is for aid to be paid via the World Bank and the Asian Development Fund. The appeal was delivered as a 16-point declaration summing up their demands, following a three day 'Y2K' summit in the Philippine capital, Manila. The millennium bug, called 'Y2K', is a programming flaw in computers that may cause them to crash on 1 January causing widespread dislocation, some say chaos. Apocalypse Now The statement on behalf of the 18 nations said: "It is agreed that the nations and economies of the Asian region...call upon the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other organisations and countries to review and increase their level of support for national and regional Y2K efforts." The declaration said the Y2K bug was not simply a technical problem arising from a computer glitch but also a social problem. "If not addressed, (it) will adversely affect the delivery of essential services in critical sectors of society, including power, telecommunications, finance, transport, and health," the statement said. Delegates reckoned that international co-operation was essential because so many business and military systems are interconnected, mechanisms which are critical to the well-being of the world. The co-signatories of this declaration say they will increase information sharing across their borders on Y2K readiness, as well as failures. The declaration was signed by: Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Fiji, Guam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Palau, Philippines, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. Hong Kong attended as an observer. Modest aid Chairman of the Philippine Commission on Year 2000 compliance, Amable Aguiluz, said: "The World Bank has funding that is available for developing Asian countries. The Philippines has given its interest to borrow...securities grant from the World Bank for its Y2K effort." "Malaysia, for instance, has already applied for a $100 million grant from the World Bank and it's now being considered." Most of the costs of Y2K compliance efforts in the region have been borne, so far, by the private sector, said Bruce McConnel, chairman of the Washington-based International Year 2000 Co-operation Centre. He said the funding being made available through development banks in terms of grants and loans was very modest and would not make a major impact on the funding situation. Mr McConnel said there was still no estimate of the total Y2K costs for the region. news.bbc.co.uk