Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office Opens In S'pore

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- The Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) opened in Singapore today to play its part to help safeguard the Asean+3 countries from global economic uncertainties. "It will also contribute to the stability, growth and prosperity of the region, together with international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)," said AMRO Director Wei Benhua. "Amid the extremely uncertain global economic and financial prospects, AMRO is fully vigilant on developments in Europe and the world and their potential impact on the Asean+3 members," he said at the official opening ceremony here. He also thanked to the authorities of Asean+3 for their strong support to AMRO, and to the Singapore government for providing an office to AMRO and various support to AMRO’s staff. AMRO is the independent macroeconomic surveillance unit of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) Agreement, a US$120 billion currency swap arrangement among the finance ministries and central banks of the Asean Member States, China, Japan and Korea. It was established in April 2011. Singapore's Finance Ministry and the Monetary Authority of Singapore jointly provide close and ongoing support for AMRO. AMRO is responsible for monitoring the macroeconomic and financial situation of, and identifying emerging vulnerabilities within, the ASEAN+3 region and its individual economies. Annual in-country consultations form part of AMRO’s surveillance activities. AMRO’s reports are produced on a quarterly basis and tabled biannually for discussion at the Economic Review and Policy Dialogue session of the ASEAN+3 Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meetings. In the event that the CMIM is activated, AMRO assumes the key role of providing an objective assessment of a swap requesting country and a recommendation for the CMIM parties. If the application is approved, AMRO then monitors the use and impact of swap funds post-disbursement. Singapore's Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Peter Ong said: "We are pleased to host AMRO in Singapore and are committed to strongly supporting AMRO in carrying out its mandate. He said through its timely and objective analyses, and in cooperation with other international financial institutions, AMRO plays a critical role in enhancing macroeconomic and financial surveillance within the region. "This is important in strengthening financial cooperation amongst the Asean+3 members," he said Present at the opening ceremony included Monetary Authority of Singapore Managing Director Ravi Menon, National Bank of Cambodia Deputy Governor Neav Chanthana, International Affairs Deputy Minister Choi JongKu of the Korean Strategy and Finance Ministry (on behalf of the Asean+3 co-chairs), Malaysia's Finance Ministry Deputy Secretary General (Policy) Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah and Chair of AMRO’s Advisory Panel Dr Chalongphob Sussangkarn. -- BERNAMA