ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office – Singapore Hosts First ASEAN+3 International Organisation

Singapore, 19 February 2016 – The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (“AMRO”) held its opening ceremony in Singapore today to commemorate its establishment as an international organisation. AMRO was formally accorded the legal status of an international organisation on 9 February 2016, when the agreement signed by ASEAN+3 member states to establish AMRO entered into force. AMRO is the first international organisation established by the ASEAN+3 member states and is headquartered in Singapore. It has close to 40 staff from ASEAN+3 countries. 

AMRO is the independent macroeconomic surveillance unit of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (“CMIM”) Agreement. The CMIM is a US$240 billion currency swap arrangement established in 2010 among the Finance Ministries and Central Banks of the ASEAN Member States, China, Japan and Korea (ASEAN+3 member states), to provide financial support in times of liquidity need. AMRO will provide economic and financial surveillance and analysis of the region to support the effective decision-making for the CMIM.

“As AMRO grows and develops its surveillance capabilities, it will establish an effective early warning mechanism for emerging risks in the region,” said Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Finance, Singapore, “Our vision is for AMRO to develop into an authoritative interpreter of economic and financial developments in the Asian region.”

The opening ceremony was attended by Mr Heng Swee Keat, officials from ASEAN+3 Finance Ministries and Central Banks, and representatives from international organisations, diplomatic missions, financial institutions and economic research institutes.

As host country, Singapore is fully committed to supporting AMRO and contributing to regional financial stability.

For more information, please visit AMRO’s website: http://www.amro-asia.org.

Jointly Issued by Ministry of Finance and Monetary Authority of Singapore
19 February 2016