Japan financial diplomat Kanda: Asean+3 agrees on new lending facility

TOKYO  – Deputies of the Asean+3 group of nations agreed on Thursday to the establishment of a new regional lending facility to respond to emergencies in the region, Japan’s Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Masato Kanda said.

The Asean+3 grouping tags on Japan, China and South Korea to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Establishment of the new facility and its specific content will be formally confirmed at their ministerial gatherings scheduled next spring and summer, he told reporters after the group’s two-day meeting in the city of Kanazawa, northwest of Tokyo.

The new facility was meant to complement the existing webs of multilateral currency swaps known as Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) at a time of crisis.

“CMIM was created by all of us for the sake of financial stability,” Kanda said. “To our regret, it was never mobilized even amid COVID-19.”

“You never know when natural disasters or pandemics may occur. Member economies are craving for a facility that would meet the demand for balance of payments in such a situation.”