The
euro is a symbol of monetary cooperation among the European
states. It has encouraged intraregional trade and growth
in investment among the member countries. The success of the
euro in the global monetary system is inspiring afresh some
of the economies who earlier thought of a regional cooperation
and a common currency unit but could not take it further.
The prominent region to get motivated by the euro story is
Asia. In this process, the Asians have revived their decadeold
idea of having the region's common currency. They say, "If
Europe can have it why can't Asia?" In the recently held
Asian Development Bank (ADB) meet, the finance ministers of
China, Japan and South Korea have once again agreed to work
towards a regional currency unit for Asiathe muchneeded political
boost that was missing for quite some time. Thus, baby steps
on the long road to common Asian currency have resumed.
The
success of the euro is not the only reason that has brought
these Asian giants together to rethink on the common currency.
Though the idea of the common currency was conceptualized
before the Asian financial crisis, an urge for common currency
was felt during the period of 199798. The governments that
were effected had emphasized the need for monetary and financial
cooperation in the future. Also, they felt that intraregional
exchange was required in the event of such crisis. To achieve
this, the concerned countries took steps to cooperate in monetary
as well as in financial reforms.
Many
economists opine that this is the right time for Asia to work
towards having a common currency. They feel that the time
is ripe for Asia to gain all the required prominence in the
wake of rise in oil prices, global imbalance due to the US
current account deficit, fall in dollar value, immense financial
and economical growth in ASEAN +4 (including India) countries.
However, a few economists are skeptical about the viability
of an Asian version of euro because of the widely varying
levels of economic development in the region and the lack
of transfer systems from areas of highly developed economies
to those fairing poorly.
|
