By Bianca Cuaresma
Central bank governors in Asia Pacific believe the various economies in the region will prove resilient in the face of changing global developments. Most also anticipate seeing improved productivity in the coming months.
At the conclusion of the 20th Executives’ Meeting of East Asia-Pacific (EMEAP) Central Banks Governors’ meeting recently, the 11-member EMEAP exchanged views on growth prospects in the region and the broader global economy in general.
“They expect the EMEAP region would remain resilient in the face of an uncertain global economic outlook and eventual normalization of financial conditions,” the cooperative forum said in a statement. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), under Amando M. Tetangco Jr. as governor, is a forum member.
The so-called normalization of monetary policy in advanced economies, really just another term for prospectively higher interest rate regimes going forward, is one of a number of events monitored closely by most central banks as the United States, still the largest economy in the world, shows signs of stronger economic expansion.
“As economic restructuring proceeds in the region, productivity performance should pick up,” the forum of governors also said in a statement.
As a precautionary measure, all central bank governors in the region agreed to pay close attention to shifts in both supply and demand side factors to ensure price stability and support sustainable growth in the medium term.
The governors also discussed the progress made across other issues concerning central bankers in the region including banking supervision, financial markets, payments and settlements systems and information technology.
EMEAP is a cooperative forum of 11 central banks and monetary authorities in the East Asia and Pacific region comprising the Reserve Bank of Australia, the People’s Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank Indonesia, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Korea, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, BSP, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bank of Thailand.