The financial crisis that erupted in 1997 changed the region's confident in such a progress and in consequence gave a strong impetus to searching for a regional mechanism that could forestall future crises. This search has been gathering momentum and opening the door to possibly significant policy-led integration in East Asia. The adoption and implementation of the CMI and ABMI could be counted as a major step toward strengthening the financial and monetary cooperation in East Asia. (The rest is omitted.)

Executive Summary

I. Introduction

II. Financial Market Liberalization and Integration
1. Benefits of Financial Integration
2. Regional or Global Financial Integration?
3. Financial Integration and Monetary Unification

III. Capital Flows in Asia
1. Trends and Characteristics of Capital Flows in Asia
2. Stylized Facts on Capital Flows in the APEC region
3. Freer and More Stable Capital Movements
4. Policy Implications

IV. Financial Globalization and Real (Trade) Regionalization

V. Economic Rationale for a Regional Financial Arrangement in East Asia
1. Regional Financial Arrangements: Stumbling Blocks?
2. Trade Integration and Stability of Bilateral Exchange Rates
3. IMF and Capital Account Crisis Management
4. Limited and Slow Progress in International Financial Reform
5. Accumulating Reserves: a War Chest or Insurance?
6. Regional Financial Arrangements: Prone to Moral Hazard?

VI. Recent Developments in the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI)
1. The Background of the Chiang Mai Initiative
2. Structure and Status of the CMI
3. Strengthening the CMI

VII. The Asian Bond Market Initiative (ABMI)
1. Objectives and Structure
2. Rationale and Need

VIII. Exchange Rate Policy Coordination forMonetary Unification
1. East Asian Monetary System (EAMS)
2. Pegging to Currency Baskets
3. The Asian Currency Unit (ACU): What is it and what will it do?
4. China's New Exchange Rate Regime and Growing Need for exchange rate policy
coordination

IX. Barriers to Financial Cooperation and Integration
1. Institutional Constraints
2. Leadership Issue

X. Concluding Remarks

Appendix.
1.The Joint Ministerial Statement of the 8th ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers' Meeting
4 May 2005, Istanbul, Turkey
2.Joint Message The 5th Trilateral (China, Japan and the Republic of Korea)
Finance Ministers' Meeting
3.Report of the Review of the Chiang Mai Initiative-Ways ofEnhancing Its
Effectiveness
4.Progress Report of the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI)
5.Chairman's Statement of the First East Asia Summit Kuala Lumpur, 14 December
2005
6.Chairman's Statement of the Ninth ASEAN Plus Three Summit Kuala Lumpur, 12
December 2005
7.Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the ASEAN Plus Three Summit Kuala Lumpur, 12
December 2005

References