(Update) Japan, China, S. Korea, ASEAN to Create New Financing Facility

   Tbilisi, Georgia, May 3 (Jiji Press)--The finance ministers and central bank governors of Japan, China, South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Friday approved plans to create a new rapid financing facility to address crises such as large-scale natural disasters and pandemics.
   "We are confident that the establishment of this new facility...will significantly bolster the regional resilience" of the Asian countries, the ministers and central bank chiefs said in a joint statement issued after their meeting in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
   The establishment of the new financing facility is a "major achievement," Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said at a press conference after the meeting.
   The new facility will be established under the Chiang Mai Initiative, a regional currency swap arrangement designed to address financial crises.
   Japan had proposed establishing a new facility to quickly provide funds in times of crises caused by external factors as the existing initiative failed to respond adequately to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(2024/05/04-00:57)

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