Why CMIM Remains a Backup Insurance Policy
The cases of the Philippines and Indonesia are among the reasons why the CMIM has never been tapped.
The cases of the Philippines and Indonesia are among the reasons why the CMIM has never been tapped.
Since 1958, two years after joining the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
With a total financing capacity of USD240 billion, the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) is the world’s second largest regional financing arrangement (RFA) among active RFAs, after the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and much larger than most other arrangements in non-European regions.
Extreme liquidity shortage during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 and the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 have motivated some ASEAN+3 economies to initiate bilateral swap arrangements (BSA) with countries either inside or outside the grouping.
Conditionality is an essential supplement to crisis financing programs. However, such conditions have long been debated by scholars and policymakers globally, as to whether they promote economic growth and development or undermine the national sovereignty of borrowers and hinder economic recovery.
ASEAN+3 leaders have reaffirmed their strong support for the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) Agreement and the mandates given to the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) at the 24th ASEAN+3 Leaders’ Summit hosted by Brunei Darussalam on October 27, 2021.
Mr. Toshinori Doi, Director of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) has been invited to join the 24th ASEAN+3 Leaders’ Summit as an observer.
AMRO is an international organization responsible for conducting macroeconomic surveillance in the ASEAN+3 region. Established in April 2011, our vision is to be an independent, credible and professional regional organization acting as a trusted policy advisor to members in the ASEAN+3 region.
During the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998, some 30% of the region’s combined GDP was lost. The crisis devastated many Asian economies, destroyed well-established companies, and put millions of people in hardship.
On May 3, 2021, the finance ministers and central bank governors of ASEAN+3 members — comprising the 10 Southeast Asian countries, and China, Japan and Korea — stressed that the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) facility should take on a more instrumental role in catering to members’ needs, amid the unprecedented economic turmoil wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.