Asean + 3 sets up reg’l surveillance unit

MANILA, Philippines - Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three (ASEAN+3) have beefed up a regional surveillance unit to better guard against possible emerging risks, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.

“This international agreement formalizes the establishment of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) as an international institution with all its immunities and privileges,” BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said in a text message over the weekend. 

“This would allow AMRO to do its job more effectively in global and regional surveillance, help implement the CMIM in crisis prevention or resolution and propose appropriate policy responses to more challenging economic and financial environment,” he said.

AMRO is the regional surveillance unit established alongside the $240-billion Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), an emergency fund put up to address the members’ liquidity needs.

The research arm monitors and assesses current developments in the ASEAN+3 member economies to detect potential risks and make policy recommendations if necessary.

The AMRO agreement was signed last Oct. 10 at the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meetings in Washington, DC by ASEAN+3 member countries. Central bank Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. signed on behalf of the Philippine government.

“Yes, we need a more enhanced CMIM and a more effective AMRO given the renewed uncertainty concerning the future move of the US Fed (Federal Reserve) and the asynchronous monetary policy paths of both the ECB (European Central Bank) and BOJ (Bank of Japan),” Guinigundo said.

ASEAN economies are expected to experience renewed volatility in markets, with the Fed on its last leg of unwinding its stimulus to the US economy and closer to raising interest rates.