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It’s time to revive plans for an Asian Monetary Fund

· 5 min read
(FLES): This 15 January 1998 file photo shows then Indonesian President Suharto signing a new letter of agreement before International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director-General Michel Camdessus at Suharto's residence in Jakarta. Suharto signed the letter spelling out major reforms and austerity measures linked to a massive bailout led by the IMF. Ten years after playing a controversial role in the Asian financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is now in the midst of its own identity crisis. The six-decade old institution, which lent over USD 38 billion during a two-year period to Asian countries on the condition they adopt strict austerity measures, finds itself 10 years later shunned by many of the countries it had previously helped. AFP PHOTO/FILES/Argus LOLONG == WITH AFP STORY: ASIA-ECONOMY-CRISIS-IMF-10YEARS BY DAVID DIEUDONNE == / AFP PHOTO / AGUS LOLONG

In 2025, with the United States’ tariff policy targeting trade deficits with many of its Asian trading partners, headlines focused on how trade flows would be diverted out of Asia. Yet, we should pay more attention to how investors’ jitters could also destabilize Asia’s financial systems, sending aftershocks through regional markets. Couple that with soaring […]

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