Lessons from GFC for Management and Liberalization of Capital Flows in Asia Mario B. Lamberte Director of Research This draws largely on Chapter 1 of the forthcoming book, Managing Capital Flows: Search for a Framework, edited by Masahiro Kawai and Mario B. Lamberte 1
Outline 1. Introduction 2. Economic characteristics of Asian economies 3. Openness of the economies 4. Patterns of capital flows 5. Impacts of capital inflows 6. Policy responses of Asian economies 7. Policy issues 2
1. Introduction Types of risks arising from surges in capital inflows: macroeconomic risks financial instability sudden and massive capital flow reversal Asian economies experienced surges in capital inflows up until the onset of the global financial and economic crisis With the global economic turmoil subsiding, there are signs that capital of a largely short-term nature is returning to Asia in a significant way raising serious concern among policymakers in the region following Brazil s move, Taipei,China has recently imposed capital controls to limit speculative capital inflows These recent developments suggest that managing capital inflows remains an important policy issue for many emerging market economies 3
2. Some economic characteristics of emerging Asian economies Economies 1990-1996 GDP Growth Current Account Investment Ratio (in %) (as % of GDP) (as % of GDP) 2000-2007 2008 1990-1996 2000-2007 2008 1990-1996 2000-2007 2008 Cambodia (CAM) 5.8 9.5 6.7-5.0-4.1-10.2 10.8 18.5 0.0 China, People's Republic (PRC) 10.7 10.1 9.0 1.1 4.8 9.8 31.2 38.9 42.0 Hong Kong, China (HKG) 4.6 5.3 2.4 9.3 14.2 28.2 22.5 19.7 India (IND) 5.8 7.3 6.7-1.3-0.1-3.0 22.6 27.6 34.8 Indonesia (INO) 7.5 5.0 6.1-2.5 2.8 0.1 27.9 21.5 27.6 Korea (KOR) 7.9 5.2 2.2-1.6 1.8-0.7 37.3 29.0 29.3 Lao PDR (LAO) 6.5 6.7 7.8-14.3-2.3 0.0 28.5 0.0 Malaysia (MAL) 9.5 5.6 4.6-5.5 11.8 17.6 38.7 22.5 19.6 Myanmar (MYA) 5.5 8.0 0.0-0.6 0.0 0.0 13.2 0.0 0.0 Philippines (PHI) 2.8 5.0 3.8-4.0 0.9 2.3 22.4 16.6 14.8 Singapore (SIN) 8.8 6.0 1.1 12.4 17.6 14.9 34.5 25.1 28.5 Taipei,China (TAP) 6.9 4.1 0.1 7.1 6.4 20.3 21.2 Thailand (THA) 8.6 5.0 2.9-7.0 2.9 0.0 40.4 25.3 27.3 Viet Nam (VIE) 7.9 7.6 6.2-8.4-1.8-11.8 20.2 32.4 36.0 Source: IFS, WDI, national statistics 4
3a. Openness of the Asian Economies: Trade in Goods and Services Figure 1. Ratio of Total Exports and Imports of Goods and Services to GDP (%) Openness (HKR, MAL, SIN - on right scale, all other countries - on left scale) 180 500 160 450 140 120 SIN PHI TAP 400 350 CAM PRC IND INO 100 80 THA VIE HKG KOR MAL 300 250 200 KOR LAO PHI TAP THA VIE 60 40 LAO CAM PRC INO 150 100 HKG MAL SIN 20 IND 50 0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 0 5
3b. Openness of the Capital Account Figure 2. Degree of Openness of the Capital Account: de jure (Chinn-Ito Index) MYA VIE PRC LAO IND MAL THA KOR PHI CAM INDO HKG SIN -2-1 0 1 2 3 6
Capital Account Openness: de facto Ratio of Total Stock of Assets and Liabilities to GDP (In %) 250 1500 INO (left scale) 200 HKG (right scale) CAM (left scale) 1250 150 SIN (right scale) 1000 PHI (left scale) THA (left scale) VIE (left scale) 750 100 KOR (left scale) 500 PRC (left scale) 50 IND (left scale) 250 MAL (right scale) TAP (right scale) LAO (right scale) 0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 CAM (left scale) IND (left scale) INO (left scale) KOR (left scale) PHI (left scale) PRC (left scale) THA (left scale) VIE (left scale) TAP (right scale) LAO (right scale) MAL (right scale) HKG (right scale) SIN (right scale) 0 7
4. Patterns of Capital Flows Capital inflows increasing since 2001, but dropped sharply in 2008 although share of FDI has remained high, however, share of portfolio has been increasing fast bank financing rose sharply in 2007-08 with Korea accounting for two-thirds of the total Capital outflows also increasing up until 2008, led by PRC, Singapore and Korea Portfolio investment outflows have the largest share As a whole, capital flows in Asia has become increasingly symmetric 8
25.0 Capital Flows: Emerging Asian Economies, % of GDP 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0-5.0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Gross capital flows Gross capital outflows Gross capital inflows Net inflows 9
Capital Flows in Emerging Market Economies: a Comparison Capital Flows in Emerging Asia, 2000-2008 (in billion US$) 2000-2007 2008 Gross Flows 4743.1 237.2 in % of GDP 10.0 2.8 Gross Inflows 2624.1 111.2 in % of GDP 5.5 1.3 Gross Outflows 2119.0 126.0 in % of GDP 4.5 1.5 Net Inflows 505.1-14.8 in % of GDP 1.1-0.2 Capital Flows in Emerging Latin America 2000-2008 (in billion US$) 2000-2007 2008 Gross Flows 677.3 159.2 in % of GDP 6.9 6.6 Capital Flows in Emerging Europe, 2000-2008 (in billion US$) 2000-2007 2008 Gross Flows 789.1 182.0 in % of GDP 18.7 17.3 Gross Inflows 553.0 139.2 in % of GDP 13.1 13.2 Gross Outflows 236.1 42.8 in % of GDP 5.6 4.1 Net Inflows 316.8 96.4 in % of GDP 7.5 9.2 Gross Inflows 351.6 80.2 in % of GDP 3.6 3.3 Gross Outflows 325.7 79.0 in % of GDP 3.3 3.3 Net Inflows 25.9 1.2 in % of GDP 0.3 0.0 10
Volatility of net flows is generally high and varies greatly across countries.. East Asian Economies 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 Latin America 70.0 % of GDP % of M2 60.0 50.0 40.0 16.0 14.0 12.0 10.0 Central and Eastern Europe 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Argentina Brazil Chile Costa Rica Venezuela, Rep. Bol. 8.0 % of GDP % of M2 6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 Bulgaria Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Poland % of GDP % of M2 11
5. Impact of Capital Flows Rapid accumulation of foreign exchange reserves. Foreign Exchange Reserve Accumulation (in billion US$): 1990-2008 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 CAM HKG IND INO JPN KOR LAO MAL MYA PHI PRC SIN THA VIE 12
Jan-00 Apr-00 Jul-00 Oct-00 Jan-01 Apr-01 Jul-01 Oct-01 Jan-02 Apr-02 Jul-02 Oct-02 Jan-03 Apr-03 Jul-03 Oct-03 Jan-04 Apr-04 Jul-04 Oct-04 Jan-05 Apr-05 Jul-05 Oct-05 Jan-06 Apr-06 Jul-06 Oct-06 Jan-07 Apr-07 Jul-07 Oct-07 Jan-08 Apr-08 Jul-08 Oct-08 Jan-09 Most currencies in the region had appreciated in real terms, up until the global credit crunch, and showed some rebound in recent months for most countries. Real Effective Exchange Rates (Jan. 2000 = 100) 160 140 120 HKG IND INO KOR 100 80 60 40 MAL PHI PRC SIN TAP THA 13
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Money supply growth rates had been generally low and stable after the financial crisis, but tended to rise in most recent years Figure 16: Growth Rates of Money Supply (%) 120 LAO 100 80 60 40 20 PRC INO VIE MYA CAM CAM HKG IND INO KOR LAO MAL MYA PHI PRC SIN TAP THA VIE 0-20 14
2000M1 2000M9 2001M5 2002M1 2002M9 2003M5 2004M1 2004M9 2005M5 2006M1 2006M9 2007M5 2008M1 2008M9 2009M5 2000M1 2000M9 2001M5 2002M1 2002M9 2003M5 2004M1 2004M9 2005M5 2006M1 2006M9 2007M5 2008M1 2008M9 2009M5 Equity prices increased markedly since 2003 up until recently as foreign portfolio investors made substantial withdrawal of their funds due to the deepening of the subprime loan crisis and risk increases in global equity markets, but have rebounded in recent months Equity Prices, Jan 2000-August 2008 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 INO MAL PHI SIN THA 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 HKG IND KOR PRC TAP 15
Mar June Sep Dec Mar June Sep Dec Mar June Sep Dec Mar June Sep Dec Mar June Sep Dec Mar June Sep Real estate prices rising rapidly during surges in capital inflow (Note: hard to get data on real estate prices) Indonesia: Residential Property Price Index, 2002-2007 1999=100 160 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 Land Price Index of Seoul Metro Area
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Inflation rates were generally low after the Asian financial crisis but have tended to rise for some countries in recent years up until 2008 Inflation Rates 30 140 25 20 15 10 5 0-5 THA PHI HKG KOR SIN PRC IND MAL CAM LAO TAP 120 100 80 60 40 20 CAM HKG IND KOR MAL PHI PRC SIN TAP THA INO LAO MYA VIE -10 INO VIE 0 17
6. Policy Responses of Asian Economies during Surges in Capital Inflows 6.1. Intervention in the Forex Markets.. Countries PRC India Indonesia Korea Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Viet Nam Sterilized Forex Market Intervention: Instruments PBC initially sold T-bonds and later replaced them with its own Central Bank Bills (CBB). Adjusts reserve requirement ratio RBI sells regular government bonds and special bonds under the Market Stabilization Scheme. Adjusts reserve requirement ratio. BI sells government bonds and central bank certificates. BOK uses Monetary Stabilization Bonds while the Ministry of Finance issues treasury bills and deposits proceeds with the BOK. BNM Sells securities in the conduct of its open market operation. BSP sells government securities and has opened a special deposit accounts facility. Adjusts reserve requirement ratios. MAS carries out intervention in the foreign exchange market to directly influence the value of the currency and defend the band. BOT sells government bonds. Recently sold US dollars in the forward market. SBV sells T-bills and central bank bills. Adjusts reserve requirement ratios. 18
6.2. Capital Controls imposition of new (fine-tuning) capital controls to slow down inflows but general tendency liberalization of the capital account easing of controls on outflows Observations: speculative capital inflows slipped through different legitimate channels such as trade accounts, FDI and investment account as well as illegitimate channels. 19
7. Policy Issues The question: In the post-crisis period, will Asia face again a surge in capital inflows? [liquidity from further monetary easing in US and Europe] Asia is currently leading the economic recovery Emerging economies in CEE still facing huge task of stabilizing their economies and repairing their financial systems Policy Issues: Of the measures tried before, which can be applied again? What other domestic policy options should be tried? Is there scope for global solutions? What is the role of regional cooperation? 20
7.1. Doing More of what has been tried before Sterilized intervention and reserve accumulation: even though there is no optimal level of reserves, the current forex reserves in Asia seem to have exceeded the level needed for mitigating abrupt capital reversals or external financing crisis scope for reserve-sharing arrangement 21
Strengthening national financial markets need to accelerate regulatory and supervisory reforms Controls on capital inflows: recent trends - moving away from administrative controls to market-based controls (e.g., tax on inflows) evidence on effectiveness of controls on inflows is mixed For countries that have already substantially liberalized capital account, administrative controls are no longer a viable option For countries that have still substantially closed capital account, properly sequenced liberalization is called for 22
7.2. Exploring other options Fiscal policy automatic stabilizer function of the budget Rebalancing growth stimulating domestic private investment in some countries and private consumption in other countries Easing restrictions on capital outflows effectiveness in the short run could attract more capital inflows 23
7.3. Scope for Collective Actions Global solutions: So far, mainly focused on transparency as a way to minimize volatility of capital (e.g., ROSC, SDDS) Another view: incidence of crises has not declined despite the increase in transparency Possibility of including countercyclical element in the regulation of financial intermediation and capital flows 24
Role of Regional Cooperation: Exchange rate cooperation Regional financial market surveillance and integration Asian Financial Stability Dialogue Effective regional reserve pooling arrangement (CMIM) Capacity building: ensures a supply of welltrained regulators and bankers 25
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