Asia Set to Double Reserve Pool as Europe Squeezes IMF: Economy

Asian policy makers are preparing to double a $120 billion reserve pool to defend the region against shocks, reducing their reliance on traditional backstops such as the International Monetary Fund as Europe saps resources.

Officials meeting in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh this week will discuss boosting to $240 billion the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization agreement, a foreign-currency reserve pool created by Japan, China, South Korea and 10 Southeast Asian nations that took effect in 2010, said Wei Benhua, director of the fund’s surveillance unit in Singapore.