ADB opens "one of the most important" annual meeting of governors

Special
Report: Global Financial Crisis

BALI, Indonesia, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) opened here Monday what is described as "one of the most important" Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors, amid deepening global economic crisis.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugurated the meeting attended by finance ministers from most of ADB's 67 member countries.

"Against the backdrop of a global economic crisis whose depth and severity has surprised us all, this year's Meeting of the Board of Governors is one of the most important in the ADB's history," the Indonesian President said.

"What must come out of this meeting is the clear resolve that the ADB is ready and capable to take on this serious challenge. We must demonstrate that the global financial crisis has made the ADB more, not less, relevant," he added.

The President also took the occasion to boost confidence in overcoming the obstacles. "We are tigers and dragons, resilient and bold. For years if not decades, the Asia Pacific region has been a symbol of hope and inspiration to many around the world," he said.

According to ADB's estimate, Asia-Pacific growth will be 3.4 percent in 2009 and 6 percent in 2010, making it still the world's fastest-growing region.

The 42nd annual meeting came a day after Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN+3) reached the agreement on all main components of a 120-billion-U.S.-dollar regional reserve pool, known as Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization. The finalization of details of the pool is considered a big step forward for the financial cooperation of Asian economies.

China and Japan will each contribute 38.4 billion U.S. dollars to the pool, while South Korea will contribute 19.2 billion dollars. The remainder will come from ASEAN nations.

Four days ago, ADB's Board of Governors agreed to triple its capital resource base, from 55 billion U.S. dollars to 165 billion, which the ADB President, in his address Monday, hailed as "a resounding vote of confidence in this region's ability" to overcome obstacles.

Nigeria urges agencies to roll out incentives to beat global financial crunch

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

LAGOS, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has directed
relevant agencies of the federal government to immediately work out palliative
and incentive packages to cushion the impact of the global economic crisis on
Nigeria's citizens and businesses, according to the Punch newspaper on Thursday.

The president, who is currently on vacation, gave the directive following
the recommendation of the Presidential Steering Committee on the global economic
crisis in the country.

The committee held a closed-door meeting at the State House on Tuesday,
after which the President was briefed on the outcome.

Yar'Adua is the chairman of the committee, but was absent due to his
vacation.

The Presidential Steering Committee had recommended the reduction of the
pump price of petrol from 70 naira to 65 naira.

Olusegun Adeniyi, Special Adviser to the President on Communications, who
disclosed the outcome of the meeting, said the committee proposed a number of
palliative measures for the short, medium and long terms towards mitigating the
effects of the global crisis on the country.

He explained that immediately after the briefing, the president directed
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Finance to liaise with
other agencies and do more work on some of the short-term palliative measures
that are proposed in order to ensure their quick implementation.

Adeniyi pointed out that salary increment was not on the cards due to the
current falling crude oil price in the international market, but assured that
the proposed measures would boost the purchasing power of the masses and put
smiles on the faces of Nigerians soon.

"What is being worked out is a package of incentives that will ginger
production, increase the purchasing power of the ordinary man on the street and
help generate employment opportunities," he added.

RMB has a bright future: Kazakh president's ex-prime economic advisor

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

ALMATY, April 21 (Xinhua) -- China's currency RMB
will play a more important role globally, said Kazakh president's former prime
economic advisor on Tuesday.

"I fully trust the RMB and believe it will have a
brighter future in the international monetary circulation," South Korea-born
American economist Dr. Chan Young Bang said in an interview with Xinhua.

Bang, founder and now president of Kzazakhstan
Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP), said China
has a vast population and a fast growing economy, its legal currency RMB is
playing a more and more important role in the world.

Thanks to its tightness and controllability, China's
banking system suffered far less impact than its western counterparts in this
global financial crisis.

He said the first crucial factor for a currency to
become an international settlement or reserve currency is that its value must be
stable. The transparency of its circulation and exchange system is also
essential. Countries like Russia, Kazakhstan, South Korea and Argentina have
signed agreements with China on border trade with home currency settlement or
bilateral currency exchange, which demonstrates that the internationalization of
the RMB is on a healthy and orderly track, he added.

"I quickly adjusted my currency deposit structure
after the eruption of the global financial crisis," Bang told Xinhua, "I cut70
percent of my U.S. dollar savings and increased RMB account dramatically."

Bang suggested that in the RMB's internationalization
process, China should on one hand strengthen its regulation and supervision of
its financial system, increase the transparency of the RMB's functioning system,
and on the other hand promote its domestic consumption, enhance economic
vitality, and shoulder greater responsibility for the RMB's long-term growth in
the global market.