Forum on financial crisis to tackle stimulus

Steps taken by Asia to rebound from the global economic crisis, including financial stimulus packages, exit strategies, and the role of central banks in promoting long-term financial stability, will be discussed this week at a forum organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Central bank governors, finance ministers, and government officials from more than 15 countries around the region are taking part in the 'Impact of the Global Crisis on Asia — Lessons Learned, Policy Insights and Outlook' forum this Nov. 4. It is the third and last in a series of regional forums hosted by ADB to bring together policy makers to find lasting solutions to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda will open the forum. "Developing Asia has made a stronger-than-expected rebound from the crisis and is expected to achieve a growth rate of 8.2 percent in 2010, driven by rising exports, strong domestic demand and expansionary fiscal and monetary policies," said Sultan H. Rahman, director general of ADB’s South Asia Department, which is organizing the forum. “Swift and robust fiscal and monetary stimulus actions taken by governments, along with crisis funding support by ADB and other development agencies, have helped restore growth in many developing Asian economies to pre-crisis levels," the bank said in a statement Tuesday. "At the same time resurgence in inflation, an increase in government debt, and exceptionally strong capital inflows are posing serious policy dilemmas for the policy makers including the central banks and resolving these dilemmas would require effective policy coordination at the global level," said Rahman. — VS, GMANews.TV