Co-Chairmen’s Summary

Singapore, April 12, 1999

The Monetary Authority of Singapore hosted a meeting to discuss the Asian Growth andRecovery Initiative (AGRI) on April 12, 1999. Participants in the meeting includedofficials from APEC economies, as well as officials from the Asian Development Bank,International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and observers from the European Union. Privatesector representatives also presented their views on restructuring and financing issues tothe participants.

Meeting participants reviewed progress achieved to date in bank andcorporate restructuring programs in a number of countries in the region and identified keypolicy challenges for the future. Participants also reviewed progress in developing andimplementing various financial initiatives through the international financialinstitutions and bilaterally to help accelerate the pace of bank and corporaterestructuring and support the restoration of growth in the region.

The next step in the initiative will be to develop country-specificprograms. In this context, representatives of the Thai government presented a concreteproposal for how the AGRI could support Thailand’s reform effort. The AsianDevelopment Bank, the World Bank, the IFC and other participants will be working withThailand to develop these proposals for possible support under the initiative