1. The Voluntary Action Plan (VAP) on Freer and More Stable Capital Flows: The APEC Pensions and Annuities Markets Seminar (Chile, New Zealand, Russia and Singapore in 2007)

The first workshop under the Policy Dialogue on Savings and Capital Market Development was held in Hanoi on 1 September 2006. This multi-year dialogue sponsored by Chile, New Zealand and Vietnam was held under the VAP, which was initiated in 1997. The workshop discussed how well-designed policy can use the links that exist between savings policy and capital market development to deliver economy-wide benefits.

In 2007, a second follow-up seminar will consider practical policies that may stimulate the development of pensions and annuities markets within the region. The seminar will be held in Singapore on 8-9 November. This workshop will focus on governance, risk management, and market development.

2. APEC Finance and Development Program (AFDP) (China and the World Bank)

With support from APEC member economies and international financial institutions, the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Center (AFDC) has continued its efforts on capacity building in the fields of finance and development. Five training workshops and one forum were held by the end of June 2007. More than 500 people from the Asia-Pacific region, including government officials, business practitioners and academia, participated in these activities.

3. Deepening Prudential Regulatory Capacity in Non-Life Insurance (Australia and the US)

This initiative is a training course for non-life insurance regulators in close collaboration with public and private sectors. It will be a six-day intensive course in Melbourne, Australia, in September 2007. Australia's APEC Study Centre will organise the training course and will coordinate with the US private non-life insurance sector. The core objectives of the training programme are to develop an awareness of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors Core Principles and their implications. It will cover the risks of non-life insurance, reinsurance, especially catastrophic risks, the need for strong corporate governance regimes, and the capacity of regulatory bodies.

4. APEC Future Economic Leaders' Think Tank (Australia)

The annual Future Economic Leaders' Think Tank is now in its 7th successive year. The 2007 Think Tank was held on 11-13 April in Sydney and was attended by 29 delegates from 17 APEC member economies. The programme was hosted by Axiss Australia and project managed by the Lowy Institute for International Policy. The theme for the 2007 Think Tank was Transparency and Sustainability in the Public Balance Sheet, one of the two key themes to be considered by finance ministers. A report was submitted to finance ministers.

5. APEC Financial Regulators Training Initiative (FRTI) (US and the ADB)

Since the inception of Phase II in 2001, the FRTI has made significant progress in achieving its objectives of strengthening content and management of the national training programmes and developing regional programmes for junior and mid-level banking supervisors and securities regulators. In 2006, there were seven seminars for this initiative. The 2007 training programme comprises four regional courses for bank supervision and three regional courses for securities regulation.

The initiative has trained more than 1,800 participants from APEC economies in 40 regional and 13 national courses. The Advisory Group, which provides support and guidance for the training needs and activities under the initiative, agreed to continue support for 2008.

6. APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs (Hong Kong China in 2007)

Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited jointly hosted the 4th Annual Meeting of APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs and the Conference on "Powering SMEs" in Hong Kong, China on 11 and 12 July 2007. The meeting discussed cooperation on measures to promote business linkages between SMEs in the APEC region, and ways to strengthen APEC financial institutions responsible for SME development. The conference following the meeting featured two forums, one on 'Financing SMEs' and the other on 'Public and Private Sector Collaboration'. MOU members and participants shared their views and experience on how to support and facilitate the growth of SMEs.

7. Insolvency Reform: Regional Network (Australia)

Phase One on the insolvency reform workshop was implemented through the Forum on Asian Insolvency Reform (FAIR), held on 27-28 April 2006 in Beijing, China.

Phase Two of the initiative involves establishing a Regional Network on Asian Insolvency Reform to share information about reforms, capacity building and technical assistance initiatives for insolvency systems and related matters. The network will produce regular electronic updates on current developments and reform proposals. The network's core will be APEC officials, although it will also be open to officials from non‑member economies.

8. Reform of Financial Sector: Catalogue of Policy Experience and Choices
(Australia, Indonesia, China, Japan and Vietnam - Australia, Indonesia, China and ADB for Catalogue)

The initiative comprised three policy dialogue workshops held in the People's Republic of China, Indonesia and Australia. A key outcome of the initiative is the development of a web-based information resource on financial sector reform, the 'Catalogue of Policy Experience and Choices'. The catalogue will be a secure, web-based information resource on financial sector reform experience for finance ministries, central banks and financial sector regulatory agencies in APEC. It will allow policy makers and regulators to draw upon the benefit of experience in developing and implementing financial sector reform in accordance with their individual circumstances.

9. Fiscal Management (Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia)

The aim of this collaborative initiative is to undertake policy dialogue on the management of significant off-balance sheet risks. Following the outcomes of previous two workshops, a new activity is proposed, which would examine one issue for a selected economy in detail in a way that allows APEC economies to participate and apply any lessons learned to their own circumstances. This workshop is proposed for the end of 2007, with a focus on managing public‑private partnerships using Indonesia as a case study.

10. APEC Policy Response to Ageing issue (Korea, People's Republic of China and the US)

In 2007 the initiative has been implemented under the theme of "Financial Market and Ageing." A core group consisting of Korea, China, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States, ABAC and the IMF was established in early 2007. Economy-specific case studies and APEC-wide studies were presented at the two core group workshops in March and June. Another core group meeting and a seminar are scheduled in October 2007 and early 2008, respectively. Research outcomes including policy recommendations will be reported at the 15th APEC FMM in 2008.

11. APEC Public-Private Dialogue on Bond Market Development (ABAC)

This initiative identifies policy and regulatory aspects and capacity building initiatives to enhance the environment particularly for corporate bond issuance. The first forum was held in May 2007 and focused on bond market developments in three economies - Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The dialogue outlined major regional cooperation and capacity building initiatives. This series of dialogue will continue with other emerging economies in the period ahead.   

12. Fiscal Space: Reviewing, Assessing and Prioritising Government Expenditure
(Australia, Indonesia and Russia)

This initiative will focus on improving the efficiency of government expenditure by considering the frameworks, tools and processes that are used to review, assess and prioritise government expenditure. The initiative will also examine the social and economic payoffs from different forms of government spending. The initiative will comprise a seminar in late 2007 and a workshop in March 2008.

13. Strengthening Capital Markets in the APEC Region (US)

This initiative will provide economy-specific technical assistance for the development of capital markets. The initiative will be a joint undertaking between the US and participating economies. They will also consult closely with the international financial institutions and APEC Secretariat.