A view of the IIF 2013 Asia CEO Summit, a gathering of Asian financial  leaders hosted 

IIF 2013 Asia CEO Summit, a gathering of Asian financial leaders hosted by the Institute of International Finance, held its meeting at the Westin-Chosun Hotel in Seoul from May 8-10 with the support of the KB Financial Group.

The event is one of the most important financial leaders’ meetings in the world during which world financial policies are discussed and readjusted by Asian financial leaders. This year’s gathering was emceed by Chairman Euh Yoon-dae of KB Financial Group, who also doubles as director of the IIF, along with Chairman Joseph Akerman of Deutsche Bank and President Gary Cohn of Goldman Sachs, who have large voices in the decisions of world financial policies.

Attending this year’s event included such notables as Timothy D. Adams, chairman of the IIF; Ma Weihua, president of China Cho-sang Bank; Bobuyuki Hirano, chairman of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Bank; Hirano Watanabe, president of Japan International Cooperation Bank; President Rana Kapoor of Ies Bank in India; President Hwang Sung-ho of Woori Investment and Securities; and President Yun Yong-ro of Korea Exchange Bank, among others.

The meeting was divided into four sessions taking up such themes as Challenges and Opportunities to Develop the Asian Financial System; The Asian Region’s Economic Prospects and Challenges; Regulations and System Reform for the Development of the Asian Bond Market; and Reform of Financial Supervision, among other diverse financial issues.

Speakers included, among others, Chairman Shin Je-yoon of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Gov. Kim Choong-soo of the Bank of Korea, and Commissioner Choi Soo-hyun of the Financial Supervisory Service, talking about ways to develop Asia’s financial industry and expressing various opinions on the subject.

The Seoul Asia CEO Summit has been an occasion for serious discussions on the major issues affecting the economy and finance and collecting opinions of leaders in the financial sector of each member country, which are hoped to contribute to world economic development and growth, especially the high position that the Korean economy has achieved.

FSC Chairman Shin, in his keynote speech at the IIF Seoul CEO Summit, said the abundant liquidity in the world could unleash huge fear in the global financial market of economic balloons that would burst from an excessive outflow of capital and hikes in foreign exchange debts. The FSC chairman said it would lead to an increased outflow of capital due to the impact on the real economy, and to prevent the situation there must be multiple layers of preventative walls. Financial companies will take preventive measures, but they may not be enough, Shin said. “First, we have to have enough foreign exchange reserves to be able to withstand the outflow of foreign currencies. Second, we have to build a global safety net as the crises have no national boundaries. The integration of the financial markets in Asia could be one of the ways under a joint financial supervisory system to prevent impacts from the outside,” he continued.

IIF Chairman Adams, said that in order for Japan’s “Abenomics” to be successful, it has to have proper financial policies, restructuring, and proper measures to run it with the most important measure being restructuring.

Adams, when commenting on worries about a low-yen value policy, said Japan has come through two decades of deflation. Japan cannot rely only on quantitative monetary policies to revive its sluggish economy and it needs measures to grow fast and overcome deflation, which are crucial for the successful outcome of low-yen policies, he said.

The G-20 Meeting allowed Japan to take on the low-yen policies on the condition that it would pursue the restructuring of its economy.

Bank of Korea Gov. Kim said the impact from exit policies of major advanced countries if taken all at once on the newly emerging markets would be great. He said the measures to reduce monetary volumes in such central financial organizations as the FRB of the United States, the ECB, the Bank of England, and other central banks if taken all at once or one by one would impact the financial markets of Asia differently.

KB Financial Group Chairman Euh urges an additional buildup of foreign exchange reserves for the newly emerging markets in Asia.

Managing Director Hong Tran of the IIF said it is doubtful how long the happy period for Abenomics would continue.

The Japanese government plans to expand the monetary volume two times and hold the inflation rate at 2 percent, aiming at both qualitative and quantitative easing. The director predicted the two would bring positive results for this year.

He said the Japanese people seemed very happy at the progress of Abenomics at least for now. But he said he is doubtful how long it would last, throwing critical eyes toward Abenomics in a circumventive way. What Japan needs is restructuring, but Japan has been experiencing the reduction of its working population and other economic factors.