Amended CMIM Takes Effect

Manila—(PHStocks)—Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)—The amended Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) Agreement, which is a regional financial arrangement among the Finance Ministries and Central Banks of the ASEAN Member States, China, Japan and Korea (ASEAN+3) and Hong Kong, will enter into force today, 17 July 2014.

The amendments will effectively allow access of the ASEAN+3 member countries and Hong Kong to an enhanced CMIM package, which includes among others:

• the doubling of the fund size from $120 billion to $240 billion;
• the increase in the level of access not linked to an International Monetary Fund program from 20 percent to 30 percent; and
• the introduction of a crisis prevention facility.

These amendments are expected to fortify CMIM as the region’s financial safety net in the event of any potential or actual liquidity difficulty.