APEC finance ministers meet to discuss fiscal policy, growth restoration

SINGAPORE, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- The 16th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting opened Wednesday at Singapore's Suntec Convention Center, focusing on fiscal policy and how to restore growth in the post-crisis period.

Finance ministers and their deputies of the 21 APEC member economies, as well as heads of the International Financial Institutions which include the Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Bank, convened here for a two-day meeting.

As several central banks have already raised their interest rates, the world's eyes have turned to the question as when the fiscal exit strategies will be rolled out on a large scale. High-level officials attending the meeting agreed, "the pace of implementing exit strategies should take into account different stages in the economic recovery of member economies, the type of policy measures to be phased out, and any spillovers caused by our strategies," according to a draft statement seen by Xinhua.

They will also discuss a range of issues related to the global economic crisis, trade finance, public-private models for the development of large-scale infrastructure projects and capital market development.

At Wednesday's meeting, APEC officials were expected to review the macro-economic situation and the fiscal policies of the APEC economies, officials attending the meeting told Xinhua via phone.

Zhu Guangyao, Assistant Minister of the Chinese Ministry of Finance, is attending Wednesday's meeting, after which a joint finance ministerial statement is expected to be issued.