Central Bank Governors to meet at the BIS Representative Office for Asia and the Pacific

BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS
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Press release

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Ref. No.: 02/1999E

7th January 1999

Central Bank Governors to meet
at the BIS Representative Office for Asia and the Pacific

On Monday, 11th January the BIS will host an informal meeting of central bank governors at its Representative Office for Asia and the Pacific in Hong Kong SAR. The purpose of the meeting is to review the global economic and financial situation and to exchange views on the ongoing process of strengthening financial systems in emerging markets.

Governors of 11 central banks and monetary authorities in the Asia-Pacific region - those of Australia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the People's Republic of China, the Philippines and Thailand - and governors of the central banks of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Mexico and the Czech Republic will attend the meeting, as will the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of the United States and the President of the European Central Bank.

As part of its policy of global outreach, the BIS organises meetings in different parts of the world. Such meetings are intended to provide central bank governors and senior officials with an opportunity to exchange views on topical issues, and are not decision-oriented.

The BIS, founded in 1930, is an international financial organisation with a membership of 45 shareholding central banks. Its main objectives are to provide a forum for international monetary and financial cooperation and to act as a bank for central banks. The BIS hosts the secretariats of various committees comprising representatives of national financial authorities. The BIS Office in Hong Kong SAR opened in July 1998. It serves as a centre for strengthening relations between the BIS and central banks and monetary authorities in the Asia-Pacific region.