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Thursday, October 16, 2008
RP says World Bank shifted fund focus
MANILA (Updated 4:55 p.m.) -- Trade Secretary Peter Favila said discussions among Asian finance officials on a regional bailout fund were only preliminary after the World Bank on Thursday denied committing to any such initiative.
Favila confronted the puzzled media as he tried to shield President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from potential embarrassment, a day after she announced that the World Bank agreed to contribute US$10 billion to a new regional liquidity fund to help Asian nations cope with the global financial crisis.
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Arroyo claimed the agreement was reached in Washington in meetings with finance officials from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and their partners from Japan, China and South Korea and multilateral lending institutions.
In a statement in Washington, Jim Adams, World Bank's vice president for East Asia and the Pacific, said the bank did not anticipate the establishment of such a fund and has not "discussed commitments of funds at the regional level."
"East Asian economies continue to perform strongly and have made significant changes since the 1997 Asian financial crisis making them more resilient to the impacts of the current global turbulence," he said.
"Like all countries, Asian economies must be prepared to deal with any effects of the turmoil," he said.
Adams confirmed that numerous discussions with individual governments were held during the recent Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and the institutions "stand ready to support all of our member countries across East Asia to deal with the challenges arising from the financial crisis."
Favila insisted the US$10 billion figure for an Asean fund was discussed in a meeting attended by the World Bank, IMF, Asian Development Bank and Asean finance ministers. "It was preliminary in character," he said.
But in a second meeting, Favila quoted Adams as saying the bank was looking at providing funds on a global scale.
"It was in the second meeting that Jim Adams did say they are now looking at a bilateral approach, not regional, not as a bloc," he said. "The commitment of the World Bank is still there."
Favila refused to call it a case of miscommunication between Arroyo and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, who was in Washington attending the meetings, or concede that the president made a premature statement. (AP)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (October 16, 2008 issue)
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