2009年10月22日木曜日

What is Japan's East Asia Community idea all about?


東南アジアコンサルティング協会(APACA; Asia Pacific Association of Consulting Actuaries)は、無事に15th EAAC ConferenceのIACA Trackで進発し、現在委員会の名簿を固めているところである。今後の、中国・インド等の市場の経済的・政治的パワーシフトを予見しての動きである。
この動きについて、委員の一人から、ロイターの記事にのった鳩山政権の動きとの類似性をコメントした人がいるので、記事を紹介する。
ところで、まったく別件であるが、昨晩、CFO FORUMが、MCEVの改訂のニュース・リリースを出しているので、アクチュアリーの皆さんはホームページを参照されたい。


(以下引用)
This Reuters article about Japan's East Asian initiative makes an interesting parallel to our EAAC/APACA initiative.


Q+A-What is Japan's East Asia Community idea all about?
Thu Oct 22 09:05:59 UTC 2009

By Yoko Nishikawa
TOKYO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is expected to pitch his idea of an East Asian Community, inspired by the example of the European Union, when he meets his Asian counterparts this weekend.
Asian leaders will gather in Thailand for the "East Asia Summit", bringing together the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. [ID:nBKK469502] [ID:nBKK491744]
WHY IS JAPAN PUSHING THE IDEA NOW?
Hatoyama, who took office last month after a landslide election victory, wants to put greater emphasis on Japan's ties with Asia while steering a diplomatic course more independent of the United States, Japan's most important security ally.
As its economic might declines as the population ages, Japan needs Asia's growing economic power for future growth.
Some analysts say Tokyo wants to draw China into regional arrangements as it fears losing its first-class status in the region amid talk of a "G2" arrangement under which Washington and Beijing shape the global economy. Economists expect China to replace Japan as the world's No.2 economy, possibly next year.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Intra-regional trade among member states of the East Asia Summit has grown three-fold over the past decade and accounts for 54 percent of their total trade, higher than that of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The GDP of East Asia Summit members combined now accounts for around 23 percent of the world's total output.
In addition to increasing economic interdependence, Asia has many issues to tackle together, including the financial crisis, outbreaks of H1N1 flu, climate change and natural disasters.
IS THE IDEA NEW?
Not really. The idea of a regional Asian grouping is the brainchild of former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, who proposed an East Asian Economic Caucus in 1990 -- a notion that some pundits called the caucus without the Caucasians.
Japan's push to create a home-grown Asian Monetary Fund to help troubled Asian economies in 1997 was quashed by the United States, just like Mahathir's EAEC proposal.
The East Asia Summit started in 2005, building on leaders' meetings held since 1997 by ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea. But the group is struggling to forge a strong identity.
WHO WILL BE INVOLVED IN THE EAST ASIA COMMUNITY?
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has envisaged opening membership to Japan, China, South Korea, ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand, and India -- the same members as the East Asia Summit.
But he has recently toned down his comments, saying there is no immediate need for concrete details, and has tried to soothe worries in Washington about the United States being excluded.
WILL IT EVER FLY?
Critics say the regional concept is pie-in-the-sky, but some argue that with Japan's new push, the idea could gain momentum.
Tokyo acknowledges that it will take decades to boost political integration and create a common currency in a politically, culturally and economically diverse region.
Japan hopes to first deepen economic ties and then take a step-by-step approach to boosting cooperation in other areas such as the environment, energy and influenza. It says sharing a common vision for the regional community will help Asia overcome friction more easily. But Japan's Okada has said it is hard at the moment to envisage a security agreement like NATO in Asia.
To make it viable, Tokyo needs to build trust with Beijing, given China's bitter memories of Japan's wartime occupation, the economic competition between the two and mutual mistrust over their militaries.
Rivalry over who would take the leading role as well as how to define the U.S. role in the scheme could become hurdles.
Washington has been wary about fresh talk on Asia's regional bloc, but Tokyo says it is a long-term vision and the U.S.-Japan alliance remains the foundation of Japan's diplomacy.
ANY IMPACT ON DOLLAR'S ROLE AS KEY CURRENCY?
Hatoyama has said his vision for an East Asian Community with a future goal of creating a common currency was not meant to diminish the role of the dollar, but market concerns linger.
The idea has always been touchy within Asia. Asian finance ministers a few years ago studied ways to create regional currency units as indicators to better monitor their currency movements, but the debate stirred controversy in some countries.

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2009年10月18日日曜日

秋はアクチュアリーの国際会議のオンパレード


先週の10月12日から15日まで、韓国のソウルで東アジアアクチュアリー大会(15th EAAC; East Asian Actuarial Conference)が開催されたが、IACAの会長として出席し、14日のIACA Sessionで、IACAの紹介と活動状況について、プレゼンを行った。リンクは次のとおりである。
http://www.eaac15th.org/sub1-1.asp
また、「アジアにおけるMCEV」と題して、中国のPwCのアクチュアリーと共同でプレゼンを行った。大変盛況で、部屋は満杯で、後ろで立ち見の人が多数おられた。また、その後のランチセッションでは、予定どおりにアジア地域のコンサルティング協会(APACA; Asia Pacific Association of Consulting Actuaries)の創設集会を行い、私が構想を説明し、後に三名の会場参加者からの賛同のコメントスピーチをいただいた。これで、APACAは、実際にactivationされたことになり、アジアにおけるコンサルティングアクチュアリーの発展と市場の拡大、品質・リスク管理等の機能を果たしていくことになる。当面は、全世界をカバーするIACAのブランチとの位置づけにするが、将来的には、英国のACA、米国のCCAのように独立した基盤を持たせることも視野に入ってくる。EAACの会場には、多数の日本人や海外の知人が参加しておられ、やはりFace to Faceで会って議論することの重要性を改めて感じた。ネットワーキングの基本は、お互いを知り合うことがまずは大切と思う。また、スピード感も、会って話せば、随分と効率よく意思決定していくことができる。実際、2012年秋に企画しているインドのニューデリーでの、IACA/PBSS/IAAHSの3SectionのJoint Collloquiaについては、財政的な収支が鍵であるが、インドの現地の委員会の作成した、Financial Projectionの感応度テストを7つのシナリオで吟味したが、大丈夫との感触を得た。まずは、23日までにIACA Committee全員の承認をとり、私の名前で、インドのアクチュアリー会会長に協力の要請を出す予定である。PBSSとIAAHSの両会長も基本的に賛同を得られた模様である。
また、EAACの直前の週の10月5日6日は、年金数理人会の20周年を記念して、PBSSの大会が、都市センターホテルで開催されたが、私もIACAの会長として招待され、IACAの紹介と活動状況について、プレゼンをさせていただいた。他に2名のIACAのメンバーからのプレゼンも会った。こちらも、立派なプログラムが組まれており、組織委員会、プログラム委員会の皆さんに敬意を表したい。