Currency war looms over G-20

Oct 20, 2010

SEOUL - G-20 finance ministers will meet in South Korea this week to try to chart a new direction for the world's economy after a devastating downturn, but fears of a 'currency war' could blow them off course. The host nation dislikes the phrase - Finance Minister Yoon Jeung Hyun has said the exchange rate issue is not 'like a duel in a Western film'. But South Korea admits the disputes will loom large over the October 22-23 meeting of ministers and central bank chiefs in the south-eastern city of Gyeongju. Ministers will set the agenda for the November 11-12 Group of 20 summit in Seoul, South Korea's biggest international event for two decades. Seoul wants to leave its mark on history with a 'Korea Initiative' to set up a global financial safety net aimed at protecting emerging markets from disruptions caused by sudden changes in capital flows. The nation, which built its economic 'Miracle on the Han River' on the ashes of the Korean War, also intends to put development prominently on the G-20 summit agenda for the first time. And it wants to push ahead with reforms to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to give emerging countries greater voting power, while encouraging the adoption of post-crisis rules to bolster the world's banks. 'South Korea... will stress that a currency war is tantamount to mutual economic destruction and push for a compromise,' an organiser told Yonhap news agency on condition of anonymity. The United States and European Union, trying to export their way to economic health amid lacklustre domestic demand, accuse China of significantly undervaluing the yuan to boost its own exports. China says it is being made a scapegoat for US domestic problems. -- AFP 출처 - http://www.straitstimes.com/print/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStory_593027.html