DPM Choi Kyung-hwan, left, shakes hands with President Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank during the IMF-World Bank 2015 Spring Annual Conference held in Washington D.C. April 17-19.(Photos:MOSF)

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Kyung-hwan will participate in the ADB's 48th Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors, to be held May 2 to May 5 at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Choi will head a Korean delegation to the annual meeting. The delegation includes the governor of the Bank of Korea and heads and representatives of commercial banks, including Kookmin, Woori, Korea Eximbank, IBK, Shinhan, Hana, Nonghyup and the Korea Development Bank, as well as representatives of other Korean financial institutions and the financial industry.

Some 3,000 government officials, business leaders, investors, journalists, and representatives from civil society will assemble for the annual meeting, which will focus on partnership for development. 

The following are highlights of the ADB’s annual report “Asian Development Outlook 2015 Financing Asia’s Future Growth.”

Developing Asia will grow at a steady pace of 6.3 percent in 2015 and 2016 — the same pace as 2014 — supported by a strengthening recovery in the major industrial economies and soft global commodity prices.

The drop in international oil prices is taking pressure off consumer prices. Inflation will slow from 3.1 percent in 2014 to 2.6 percent this year. As oil prices gradually rebound, inflation will pick up to 3.0 percent in 2016.

As low oil prices are supporting growth in developing Asia, a sudden reversal could undermine the outlook and require a policy response. Similarly, while capital inflows to the region have been beneficial for growth, policymakers must carefully manage credit expansion to ensure that it does not lead to excessive leverage and asset price bubbles.

Developing Asia needs a deep, robust financial sector to sustain growth. Policy makers will be challenged to ensure that financial sector development is inclusive, providing broad access to households and firms. Financial stability must also be maintained to enhance growth and equity.

DPM Choi Kyung-hwan is being greeted by Managing Director Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) at the IMF-World Bank 2015 Spring Annual Conference held in Washinton D.C. April 17-19.

DPM Choi Kyung-hwan shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew at the IMF-World Bank 2015 Annual Spring Conference in Washington D.C. April 17-19.

Korea’s Sharing Its Development Experiences with Emerging Economies

Deputy Prime Minister and Strategy and Finance Minister Choi attended 2015 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington from April 17-19. The DPM has been acting as the acting Prime Minister with Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo offering to resign on April 14. 

The DPM’s busy schedule in Washington included attending the G-20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting, and meetings with a number of finance ministers to discuss bi-lateral financial matters between Korea and the countries those finance ministers represent.

One of the key meetings he attended was the Development Committee Meeting of the World Bank, consisting of 25 finance ministers and heads of the ADB, and other global development banks, held on April 19.

Deputy Prime Minister Choi attended the Development Committee meeting with Korea having been made a director nation last November. It represents 14 nations, including Australia and New Zealand. Other notables attendees included U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank and Managing Director Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund, among others.

In his speech, DPM Choi said that financial support to emerging nations should be made in such a way as to they can make investments in the civilian infrastructure sector to back up sustainable growth. In order to do that, such public financial organizations as the IFC of the World Bank, and IIC of the IDB should be strengthened under a measure to support the civilian sector’s investment capabilities. He also proposed knowledge sharing and packaging support for development projects, citing as an example Korea’s economic development experience in sharing project (KSP) and EDCF to promote detailed economic development projects. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said DPM Choi’s recommendations at the Development Committee have been reflected in the committee’s joint statement that was issued following the meeting, making a huge contribution to the progress of the international society’s discussions on global development projects

The 2015 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) brought together thousands of government officials, journalists, civil society organizations, academia and the private sector. The joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee will meet to discuss progress on the IMF's and the WBG's work. Seminars, regional briefings, press conferences and many other events took place. 

The Development Committee met April 18 in Washington, D.C.

The global economy is growing slightly faster than in 2014, although growth rates vary widely among countries. 

“We remain vigilant to the risks from potential financial market volatility, movements in exchange rates and oil and other commodity prices, and sluggish global trade,” he said. “While some middle-income countries (MICs) are experiencing easing of growth, low-income countries, as a group, continue to record good growth rates. We call on the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support countries’ efforts to spur inclusive growth and job creation and build resilience to adverse shocks, in order to reduce poverty, and enhance shared prosperity in a sustainable manner, and protect hard-won gains in these areas.”

In aggregate, cheaper oil and commodities will result in a significant real income shift from oil exporters to oil importers, with a net positive effect on growth in developing countries. This creates challenges for policy makers in oil exporting countries, but also provides a favorable environment for subsidy and tax reforms for more inclusive and sustainable growth. “We urge the WBG and the IMF to help countries hit hard by falling export receipts, tax revenues, or remittances, and to advise on energy pricing and the use of clean energy,” he said. 

Korea Joins AIIB

DPM Choi expressed his desire for Korea to get a larger stake in the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to his Chinese counterpart Lou Jiwei in a bilateral meeting held Friday at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s 2015 annual Spring meetings in Washington. 

Just a few days before negotiations over the AIIB begins in Beijing on April 27, Choi asked Lou to seriously consider Korea’s request. 

Lou responded that he welcomes Korea becoming the 40th preliminary founding member out of the AIIB’s total of 57 members. 

IDB Board of Governors Meeting in Busan

Busan hosted the Inter-American Development Bank’s annual meeting of its board of governors from March 28-29, with representatives from 44 members countries attending. At the center of the meeting’s agenda was the reform of civilian sector support and the issue related to changes in the bank’s strategies for 2010-2020. The issue involved various civilian sector support organizations being integrated with the IIC, the civilian sector support organization under IDB to boost its effectiveness. 

Also decided at the meeting was an increase in capital for the Inter-American Investment Corp. to $20.3 billion with an additional investment of $1.35 billion to the existing $7.25 billion by setting up New Co.

The Busan Resolution adopted at the Busan meeting of the IDB is expected to give strength to the civilian sector so that it will be the center of economic development projects for Central and South America in the future. The resolution has been considered to be a great turning point for the IDB’s 50-year long history and a great result for Korea as the host country for the IDB meeting.

Also resolved at the Busan IDB Board of Governors meeting was a reform of medium-term strategies for the 2010-2020 Organizational Strategy, so that member nations in the region can attain sustainable growth amid the fear that their growth will slow down, putting them into a slump. The meeting agreed to the three major strategies for further economic development of Central and South America.

IDB Board of Governors and other partipants at the IDB-IIC Meeting in Busan March 28-29 pose for a photo session during the meeting including DPM Choi Kyung-hwan who will act as the chairman of the IDB Board of Governors for a year.