This conference proceedings discusses progress made since the 1997-98 financial crisis and presents summaries of the situation in each country.

This publication is based on the proceedings of the 4th meeting within the framework of the Forum for Asian Insolvency Reform, organised by the OECD, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and held in New Delhi, India, held in November 2004. It contains individual country reports on key trends and developments relating to debt, insolvency and credit risk management issues since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis; as well as four papers which explore the issues from a regional perspective.

There is limited access for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to bank credit. This book proposes new and sustainable models to help ease the access of SMEs to finance and boost economic growth and job creation in Asia. This book looks at the difficulties of SMEs in accessing finance and suggests ways on how to mitigate these challenges. It suggests how we can develop credit information infrastructures for SMEs to remedy the asymmetric information problem and to utilize credit rating techniques for the development of a sustainable credit guarantee scheme. The book provides illustrations of various Asian economies that implemented credit guarantee schemes and credit risk databases and is a useful reference for lessons and policy recommendations.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are widely regarded as the backbone of economies and make a unique contribution to gross domestic product, exports, and employment. Yet, SMEs face multiple challenges in gaining access to finance that can fuel their growth. This publication scrutinizes the multiple factors affecting SMEs’ access to finance and the impact of credit guarantee schemes (CGSs), examines country case studies from across the globe, and highlights the financial and economic additionality of CGSs when they are rigorously setup. To support Asia and Pacific economies, the publication suggests operational policy recommendations for the key priority areas of CGSs, focusing on legal and regulatory setup, corporate governance, services offered, risk management, and monitoring.

Asia’s demand for second-generation financial institutions and markets needs to be met in order for the region’s further development to be sustained. This book provides a compelling, fact-based assessment of current practices and regulations in Asia’s financial institutions and markets and carefully documents the exciting opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in the region’s financial systems. This book differs in design from typical treatments of financial institutions and markets because its focus is on Asia rather than using the US model (in terms of market configurations or products) as a benchmark, and its takes a contemporary and forward-looking view of financial markets. Examples of practice from Asia are used to illustrate major accepted themes in finance and financial regulation. To the extent that Asia’s main economies share characteristics that are distinct, for example, in the relationship between government and the banking sector, or in aspects of corporate governance, the book will discuss the consequences for market operation and intermediation. The book’s carefully structured facts and rigorously argued analysis carry important implications both for students in business and law and for professionals new to financial markets in Asia. It will change the way that Asian financial markets and institutions is taught in universities as well as provide a valuable resource for professionals working in finance in Asia.

An IMF paper reviewing the policy responses of Indonesia, Korea and Thailand to the 1997 Asian crisis, comparing the actions of these three countries with those of Malaysia and the Philippines. Although all judgements are still tentative, important lessons can be learned from the experiences of the last two years.