Asian Finance Ministers Meet In Phuket To Combat Global Crisis

[george]

Asian finance ministers meet to combat global crisis

PHUKET: -- Finance ministers from South-east and East Asia met Sunday on the Thai tourist island of Phuket to try to come up with joint measures to tackle the effects on the region of the global economic slide.

Although institutional investors in East Asia generally stayed away from the kind of financial instruments that led to the current economic crisis in the West, the countries of the region have already experienced dramatic falls in volumes of exports to the West, with further drops expected.

The main topic of the day's discussions at the Sheraton Resort in Phuket, 550 kilometres south of Bangkok, is expected to be the establishment of a regional rescue fund of 80 to 120 billion dollars.

-- DPA 2009-02-22

[Chang_paarp]

Is this a continuation of the discussions in singapore earlier this year At that ime it was sugested that the fund be set up with LARGE contributions from China and Japan. I think Japan may have trouble making the sugested contributions unless China can lend them some.