Asian fund creation to be speeded up

BEIJING, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- China, South Korea and Japan, along with the 10-member ASEAN, may speed up the setting up of an $80 billion fund due to the current global financial turmoil.

The currency swap fund is designed to strengthen regional financial stability, with 80 percent of the money coming from China, South Korea and Japan. The rest will be shared by the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

However, China Daily, quoting analysts, reported Tuesday the fund creation process may be speeded up because of concerns over the U.S. and global economy.

The report said South Korean Deputy Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon planned to hold a meeting of the finance ministers of South Korea, Japan and China earlier than May 2009 as previously planned.

The $80 billion fund will create a multilateral reserve-pooling arrangement among the participants. It will replace the current Chiang Mai Initiative which deals mainly with bilateral currency swaps to fight against speculative currency attacks.