MANILA -- China, Japan, South Korea and 10 Southeast Asian countries agreed on May 3 to enlarge and strengthen their emergency liquidity program, while citing euro zone uncertainties and high oil prices as key economic risks.
The 13 countries endorsed the proposed doubling in size of the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) program to $240 billion and agreed to slightly reduce its compulsory link to the International Monetary Fund bailout conditions.
"We strongly believe that our agreement made today on strengthening the CMI ... will serve as another important step forward to strengthen the regional financial safety net and to pursue sustainable growth in the region," their finance ministry and central bank chiefs said in a joint statement after a meeting in Manila.
The statement was released to reporters in advance by South Korea, co-chair for this year.
Finance ministers from the 13 countries, including members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), met on the sidelines of the annual Asian Development Bank meetings and central bank chiefs joined them for the first time this year.
They cited uncertainties over the euro zone's fiscal crisis, inflation pressures driven mainly by high oil prices and rising short-term capital flows in and out of the region as key downside risks facing their largely export-dependent economies.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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