ASEAN MINISTERS PUSH FOR ECONOMIC
AND FISCAL REFORMS

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will press on with economic and fiscal reforms to consolidate their recovery gains from the financial crisis that hit the region in mid-1997 and sustain growth in the coming years.

The ASEAN finance ministers now meeting in Manila in connection with the 3rd ASEAN Informal Summit announced this move following their special meeting at the Manila Hotel Thursday morning.

The meeting was presided over by Philippine Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu.

"Over the medium-term, we recognize the need to begin the process of consolidation , especially given the large amounts of public resources committed to financial sector restructuring, to re-establish balanced fiscal positions and reduce the likelihood of inflation," the ministers said in a joint statement issued after their meeting.

To restore ASEAN's position as one of the world's fastest growing regions, the ministers said they will pursue, among others, the following structural reforms:

• implementation  of measures in the financial sector;

• further progress in corporate and debt restructuring;

• improvements in ASEAN's legal structures; and

• implementation of social safety nets programmes;

On the financial restructuring, the ministers said viable banks are now being recapitalized, bad debts are being dealt with, and prudential supervision and regulation are being tightened.

Most ASEAN countries, they assured, are strictly adhering to the international standards : and best practices in accounting and disclosure standards, loan classification and provisioning requirements, and capital adequacy rules.

"Our efforts will now focus on effective implementation of these improvements," the ministers' joint statement said.

On corporate restructuring, the ministers said initiatives are now being accelerated under a corporate institutional framework now in place.

The initiatives, they said, include measures to implement bankruptcy codes and foreclosure laws that are in line with international standards.

"We expect that corporate restructuring will accelerate given this new enabling environment," the statement said.

Addressing the social costs of the financial crisis, the ministers said they have also taken steps to strengthen social safety nets to lessen the impact of restructuring on the poor and the most vulnerable segments of the population.

"in particular, we shall continue to pursue and support programs to improve the skills and productivity of our people and to ensure that the fruits of growth are more equitably distributed within our societies," they said.

On the important; role of capital flows to further sustain growth in the region, the finance ministers said they support ASEAN efforts to expedite the implementation of the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) scheme for the early realization on an investment region with free-flowing capital.

The initiatives the finance Ministers vowed to pursue are accordance with the ASEAN leaders' "Statement of Bold Measures" they adopted during the sixth ASEAN summit held in December last year in Hanoi.