Finance ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN+3) reached here on Sunday the agreement on all main components of regional reserve pool, and will implement it before the end of this year.

finance ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN+3) hold a meeting in Bali, Indonesia, May 3, 2009. The ASEAN+3 finance ministers reached here on Sunday the agreement on all main components of regional reserve pool, and will implement it before the end of this year.

The agreement on Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) includes “the individual country’s contribution, borrowing accessibility, and the surveillance mechanism,” said a statement issued after the finance ministers’ meeting.

The total size of the CMIM is 120 billion U.S. dollars with the contribution portion between ASEAN and the Plus Three countries at20 percent versus 80 percent.

China and Japan will each contribute 38.4 billion U.S. dollars to the pool, while South Korea will contribute 19.2 billion dollars.

Among China’s portion, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will contribute 4.2 billion U.S. dollars.

The CMIM is set up to “address short-term liquidity difficulties in the region and to supplement the existing international financial arrangements,” the statement said.

The ministers agreed to establish an independent regional surveillance unit to monitor and analyze regional economies and support CMIM decision-making. As a start, there would be an advisory panel of experts to work closely with the Asian Development Bank and the ASEAN Secretariat.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet