S. Korea pledges US$19.2 bln to Asian crisis fund

SEOUL, May 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has agreed to contribute US$19.2 billion to
an Asian crisis fund designed to insulate the region from global financial
turmoil, Seoul officials said Sunday.
Japan and China will also chip in $38.4 billion each to the $120 billion fund
under the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI), a currency swap scheme created
in the aftermath of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
The remainder of $24 billion will be shared by the 10 member countries of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said South Korea's Ministry of
Planning and Finance, adding the agreement came at a meeting of finance ministers
of the three countries.
"The agreement is likely to help promote regional financial cooperation," South
Korean Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun was quoted as saying after the meeting.
The CMI currency swap scheme was reached among the 10 ASEAN members, South Korea,
Japan and China to jointly deal with external currency speculation and allow
financially troubled countries to borrow foreign currency from others in the
group.
Asian nations are estimated to hold about two-thirds of global foreign reserves,
making the arrangement a potent deterrent against speculators seeking to make a
profit by manipulating foreign exchange rates.
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