[asia-apec 1556] Brunei media story - APEC/PECC

[APEC Monitoring Group]

Borneo Bulletin Online 9 Sep 2000

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2000

Call to clean up East Asian corporations
By Dean Visser

A Bruneian walks past a banner welcoming the delegates of the Apec Finance
Ministers' Meeting at the Brunei International Airport Friday. Protecting an
increasingly globalised world from future economic crises was among the top
concerns as Brunei hosts the two-day finance ministers' meeting of
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) starting today. AP
Non-government observers will push the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(Apec) forum to launch a campaign for greater corporate transparency in East
Asian countries, an official said Friday.

Jesus Estanislao, delegation head of the Pacific Economic Cooperation
Council, said better "corporate governance" was needed to avoid an economic
crisis like the one that battered East Asia in 1997 and 1998.

"If corporations and institutions don't go to the root of some of the
problems that were part of the East Asian financial crisis, we can have the
virus come back in a different strain," Estanislao said.

Speaking to reporters on the eve of a meeting of APEC finance ministers in
Brunei slated for Saturday and Sunday, Estanislao said his business-oriented
delegation would ask the ministers to address the problem.

"In many (East Asian) countries, boards of directors really do not take
their duties and responsibilities very seriously," he added. "Therefore,
there are no checks and balances."

He wanted APEC to persuade member countries to ensure that companies
followed proper disclosure laws and were accountable to shareholders.

"In many economies in East Asia there's been very little work" towards
corporate reform, he said. "In Korea there's been some movement, and to some
extent in Thailand."

The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council is the only official
non-governmental observer body for Apec. The council consists of academics,
businessmen and other observers from Pacific Rim countries.

The council will propose that APEC help form an "Institute of Directors" to
act as watchdogs and trainers for corporate directors in East Asia,
Estanislao said.

"We're moving towards having a corporate governance scorecard, which will
follow a common framework in East Asia," he said. "We're trying to build
codes in East Asia for corporate governance."

Corporate governance could not be left entirely to governments, Estanislao
said, as some would ensure that unfavourable data are "toned down or not
discussed at all."

He said bodies such as the International Monetary Fund had problems pushing
for corporate governance in East Asia, due to "unhappiness" with the IMF's
increasing clout in the region.

The issue of oil prices is also hot among the topics. Delegates to the
deputies' meetings said the issue of oil prices - which have nearly tripled
in the past two years - is likely to dominate the ministers' meeting.

"Oil's an issue that some of the ministers will want to raise," New Zealand
finance deputy John Wilson said.

The skyrocketing cost of oil "is one of the factors that limits the growth
of the region," Peruvian delegate Capunay said.

APEC includes large oil exporters such as Indonesia and Mexico. But
oil-importing members, such as Thailand and Japan, have called on APEC to
address the problem of high prices.

This weekend's meetings precede a November Apec summit in Brunei, an
oil-rich sultanate in northern Borneo island.

Apec, established in 1989, aims to achieve free trade and investment among
its members by 2020. The members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile,
China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan,
Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. - AP


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