Asian and European leaders called yesterday for a coordinated response to the global financial meltdown and prepared to endorse a critical role for the IMF in aiding the hardest-hit countries.
Speaking in Beijing as stock markets plunged across Asia, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) told assembled leaders of 43 nations that the crisis had badly dented China’s economic juggernaut.
“The global financial crisis has noticeably increased the uncertainties and factors for instability in China’s economic development,” Hu said in remarks at the opening of the biennial Asia-Europe Meeting, known as ASEM.
China has made “active efforts to the best of its ability” to mitigate the crisis and will work with the international community to revive stability “with a sense of responsibility,” Hu said, pledging his government would vigorously expand domestic demand and maintain healthy financial markets.
The two-day ASEM summit seeks to build consensus on how to respond to the crisis ahead of a Nov. 15 meeting of the 20 largest economies in Washington.
What emerged yesterday was strong sentiment in favor of rewriting rules for overseeing the global economy and a leading role for international financial institutions such as the IMF.
A draft of a meeting statement on the crisis called on the IMF and other financial institutions to act immediately to help stabilize struggling banks and staunch the flood of red ink on regional stock exchanges.
“Leaders agreed that the IMF should play a critical role in assisting countries seriously affected by the crisis, upon their request,” the draft said.
If adopted, the statement would be among the strongest calls yet for a leading role in the crisis for the IMF, long known as the international lender of last resort. Countries as disparate as Hungary, Ukraine, Iceland and Pakistan have already turned to the IMF for help in bridging liquidity crunches.
The draft statement said leaders agreed to “undertake effective and comprehensive reform of the international monetary and financial systems.”
“They agreed to quickly take appropriate initiatives in this respect, in consultation with all stakeholders and the relevant international financial institution,” it said.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, leader of the world’s second-largest economy, “strongly supports” a critical role for the IMF, Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama said.
In remarks at the opening ceremony, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a united Asia-Europe front at the Washington meeting.
“Europe is going to act in a united way, and we will submit proposals that we have developed together. Europe would like Asia to support our efforts and would like to make sure that on the 15th of November we can face the world together and say that the causes of this unprecedented crisis will never be able to happen again,” Sarkozy said.
ASEM has no mandate to issue decisions, and participants differ widely on their views toward international cooperation and intervention by global bodies. Free-trading Singapore and economic powerhouse Germany are attending, along with isolated, impoverished Myanmar and landlocked, authoritarian Laos.
The crisis has again raised the threat of economic nationalism, and in remarks to the assembly, EU Commission President Jose Barroso warned countries against resorting to protectionism and isolation.
“Just as we should strive for open societies governed by the rule of law, so we must work to have open markets, but markets with rules,” Barroso said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The firm has already completed one fab, which is to begin mass producing 2-nanomater chips next year, while two others are under construction Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to begin construction of its fourth and fifth wafer fabs in Kaohsiung next year, targeting the development of high-end processes. The two facilities — P4 and P5 — are part of TSMC’s production expansion program, which aims to build five fabs in Kaohsiung. TSMC facility division vice president Arthur Chuang (莊子壽) on Thursday said that the five facilities are expected to create 8,000 jobs. To respond to the fast-changing global semiconductor industry and escalating international competition, TSMC said it has to keep growing by expanding its production footprints. The P4 and P5
DOWNFALL: The Singapore-based oil magnate Lim Oon Kuin was accused of hiding US$800 million in losses and leaving 20 banks with substantial liabilities Former tycoon Lim Oon Kuin (林恩強) has been declared bankrupt in Singapore, following the collapse of his oil trading empire. The name of the founder of Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd (興隆貿易) and his children Lim Huey Ching (林慧清) and Lim Chee Meng (林志朋) were listed as having been issued a bankruptcy order on Dec. 19, the government gazette showed. The younger Lims were directors at the company. Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin of BDO Advisory Pte Ltd are the trustees, according to the gazette. At its peak, Hin Leong traded a range of oil products, made lubricants and operated loading
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
RSS