Current Activities
The FMP’s meetings in 2016 are held under the theme “Strengthening Public Policy for An Integrated and Resilient Asia-Pacific Region”, which is supported by 3 priority areas: 1) promote the development of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Knowledge Portal; 2) strengthen financial inclusion policies; and 3) enhance financial resilience against disasters. Several activities have been carried out in line with these priority areas.
- Workshop on Improving Catastrophic Data, 13 February 2016, Lima, Peru
Participants discussed the key disaster risk components and their assessment, as well as the main challenges of correctly gathering the data needed to assess risk and to locally build modelling capabilities. Several economies presented their own experience and the model they’ve developed in data gathering related to the disaster risk components. International organizations such as the OECD and the World Bank and some international modelling companies also introduced their findings.
- Workshop on Domestic Catastrophic Insurance Pooling, 14 February 2016, Lima, Peru
Participants discussed how to set up and develop sustainable domestic Catastrophic Insurance Pools so as to rapidly improve insurance penetration at least for homes. A number of economies shared their experience and the challenges they’ve met in creating and implementing such pools. It was suggested that the role of the government is crucial for the long-term sustainability of the disaster insurance system, while a good balance of burden sharing with private sector is equal important. Besides, a comprehensive disaster risk management package is also necessary for development and spread of disaster insurance.
- 1st Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting of 2016, 15-16 February 2016, Lima, Peru
the Cebu Action Plan which was endorsed by the last Finance Ministers’ Meeting in 2015, and the non-paper on Modernization of the APEC FMP which called for reforms of the process to improve the FMP’s effectiveness and streamline FMP’s agenda. An APEC PPP Knowledge Portal, which will be an online repository of infrastructure projects, was proposed to be launched by the end of this year as a follow-up to the Cebu Action Plan. Participants also exchanged views on the key downside risks to the global economy and the measures to tackle the challenges, such as short and medium term monetary and fiscal policies as well as structural reforms. The importance of developing domestic policies to promote financial inclusion was highlighted so as to ensure inclusive growth. The new topic of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) was agreed to be introduced to the FMP with a view to synergizing it work with G20.
- Workshop on Financial Inclusion Policies, 24-25 May 2016, Trujillo, Peru
Participants highlighted the importance of financial inclusion policies in GDP growth, poverty and inequality reduction, which will in turn speed up financial development and promote the financial integration process. It was mentioned that there is a need to explore new pathways for providing financing instruments for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), including sources that the banking sector and capital markets could offer. The role of digital payments in the financial inclusion process was explored by the workshop and the government was suggested to play actively in this field through the digitalization of government payments. Participants also reviewed the relationship between financial literacy policies and financial inclusion and introduced their domestic strategies/plans for financial literacy.
- 14th Senior Finance Officials’ Meeting, 26-27 May 2016, Trujillo, Peru
Members continued their discussion on the implementation of the Cebu Action Plan and the Modernization of the APEC FMP, and in-principally supported the two proposed strategies for pursue these topics. They further explored the idea to establish an APEC PPP Knowledge Portal and welcomed the cooperation between APEC FMP and the Global Infrastructure Hub (GIH) on the development of the portal. The meeting also listened to updates from international financial institutions on the global and regional economic and financial outlook, and structural reforms for more stable and sustainable growth were suggested to the meeting. Besides, participants further discussed financial inclusion policies, disaster risk financing and insurance policies and the implementation of the BEPS, and expressed their commitment in these fields.
The 2nd Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting of 2016 and the 23rd APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting will be held 13-15 October 2016, in Lima, Peru.
Other ongoing policy initiatives in the FMP include:
- APEC Finance and Development Program (AFDP) (since 2002)
- APEC Financial Regulators Training Initiative (FRTI) (since 2000)
- APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs (since 2004)
- Financial Inclusion Forum (since 2010)
- Developing Capacity for Cross-Border Recognition of Equivalent Regulatory Regimes for Issuing and Trading Financial Products and Services (since 2010)
- Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Partnership (since 2011)
- Asia-Pacific Financial Forum (since 2012)
- APEC PPP Experts Advisory Panel (since 2013)
- Financial Infrastructure Development Network (since 2015)
Achievements
The APEC Finance Ministers’ Findings, Kyoto 1996 had identified Policies Contributing to Stable Capital Flows, Policies Fostering Domestic Financial and Capital Market Development, and the importance of developing policies and financing techniques which attract and channel private investment in infrastructure development.
Finance Ministers further adopted Voluntary Principles for Facilitating Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure, and Voluntary Principles in Promoting Financial and Capital Market Development in 1997, and agreed to launch the following collaborative initiatives to support the work in the aforementioned fields:
- Enhanced Cooperation among Export Financing Institutions;
- Strengthening Financial Market Supervision;
- Strengthening Clearing and Settlement Infrastructure;
- Supporting Development of Rating Agencies and Strengthening Information Disclosure Standards;
- Regional Forum on Pension Fund Reform;
- Regional Forum on Securitization;
- Voluntary Action Plan for Supporting the Freer and Stable Flow of Capital.
Facing the financial turmoil in Asia in 1997/1998, Finance Ministers worked together to restore stability and promote recovery in the affected economies, and reinforce the global financial system, so as to reduce the likelihood of future recurrences. They endorsed the idea of enhancing surveillance of financial sector supervisory regimes and agreed to implement the Action Plans for Strengthening Training of Bank Supervisors and Securities Regulators in APEC economies. They also worked on mitigating the social impact of the crisis on the poor, restructuring corporate and financial sector, and strengthening international financial architecture. Since then, several new initiatives were explored, covering the topics of domestic bond markets development, privatization, bank failure management, financial regulators training, managing and regulating change in life insurance and pension, corporate governance, insolvency law, public sector management, social safety nets, fighting financial crimes, electronic financial transaction systems and etc.
During the economic recovery and growth in early and mid-2000s, the FMP further expanded its working scope to achieve in a broader range of issues:
- A set of Strategic Goals and Modus Operandi of the FMP were agreed by Finance Ministers in 2001, to guide and focus the FMP’s work in a way that complements APEC’s overall vision.
- An APEC Action Plan on Combating the Financing of Terrorism was endorsed in 2002 in response to the terrorist threat posed by the 9/11 attacks, and an APEC Initiative on Remittance Systems was launched to identify the economic and structural impediments contributing to the circumvention of formal remittance channels.
- A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation Among the APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) signed by financial institutions from participating economies in September 2003 to support financing for SMEs.
- The Jeju Declaration on Enhancing Regional Cooperation against the Challenges of Population Ageing was issued by Finance Ministers and an expert group was agreed to be formed to provide policy recommendations to aging issue in 2005.
- The FMP Strategic Goals was updated and the Medium-Term Agenda of the FMP was adopted in 2006 to keep abreast with the rapid evolution of the global and regional economic and business environment and APEC’s activities overall.
- A web-based APEC Catalogue of Policy Experience and Choice was agreed in 2007 to collect and share knowledge on financial reform based on the practical experience of member economies and international agencies.
Other new initiatives undertaken during this period included APEC Future Economic Leaders Think Tank, APEC Finance and Development Program, Insolvency Reform, Reform of Financial Sector, Deepening Financial Regulatory Capacity and Fiscal Management etc.
Facing the global financial crisis in 2008, Finance Ministers discussed ways to restore stability of international financial system, focusing on weaknesses in existing regulatory and supervisory frameworks, particularly with regard to transparency and disclosure by financial institutions, risk management and the role of credit ratings. Ministers further called for structural reforms to support strong, sustainable and balanced growth. In 2010, The Kyoto Report on Growth Strategy and Finance was adopted and submitted to APEC Leaders, which identified priorities for securing future growth, namely, rebalancing and strengthening global demand, pursuing sound fiscal management, and enhancing finance to key sectors such as infrastructure, small and medium enterprises, households and green investment.
Post-crisis work of FMP involved areas such as regulatory reform, financial empowerment, PPP in infrastructure development, climate change/green finance, regional financial integration and financial resilience. A number of initiatives were implemented, among which, the following are noteworthy:
- A Policy Statement on Financial Literacy and Education was issued by Finance Ministers in 2012;
- An APEC PPP Experts Advisory Panel was established in 2013 to support the PPP Center and infrastructure development;
- The Implementation Roadmap to Develop Successful Infrastructure Public-Private Partnership Projects in the APEC Region was adopted in 2014;
- The Cebu Action Plan, which is a comprehensive FMP Roadmap with a list of initiatives in up to 10 years, was endorsed at the last Finance Ministers’ Meeting in 2015. It is underpinned by four priorities: a) Prompting Financial Integration; b) Advancing Fiscal Reforms and Transparency; c) Enhancing Financial Resilience; and d) Accelerating Infrastructure Development and Financing. It aim to create an APEC community that is more prosperous financially integrated, transparent, resilient, and connected.
- The concept note of the Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP) to facilitate the cross-border marketing of managed funds across participating economies in the Asia was explored in 2011, with the Memorandum of Co-operation on the Establishment and Implementation of the ARFP signed by Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Thailand and coming into effect in 2016.