MAS: Annual report 2006 / 2007
CONTENTS
HOME
 
TEAMWORK - Our Partners
SINGAPORE 2006 INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND AND WORLD BANK GROUP ANNUAL MEETINGS
WORKING WITH INDUSTRY
FINANCIAL COOPERATION
TEAMWORK - Our Partners  
SINGAPORE 2006 INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND  
  AND WORLD BANK GROUP ANNUAL MEETINGS 44
 
SINGAPORE 2006 INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND AND WORLD BANK GROUP ANNUAL MEETINGS

In September 2006, Singapore hosted the 2006 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group. Known as Singapore 2006, the Annual Meetings brought the global attention back to Asia, almost ten years after the Asian Financial Crisis. Delegates, business and financial leaders from 184 countries gathered together to discuss the new growth opportunities in Asia. Over 400 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from 184 countries spoke on the dynamism and prospects of the global economic and financial markets, and about developments and structural reforms that have taken place in the region.

Also dubbed the “Reform Summit”, the 2006 Annual Meetings proved to be a milestone in increasing the quota shares of four countries – China, Korea, Mexico and Turkey. This achievement was part of the ongoing quota reform package aimed at giving underrepresented countries a greater voice in the IMF.
 
2006 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the IMF and World Bank Group - Opening Plenary Session.
Singaporeans welcomed the world with their four million smiles during Singapore 2006.
There was record number of 20,000 participants at the 2006 Annual Meetings in Singapore, including more than 5,000 executives from over 200 financial institutions. 140 events were held on the sidelines by these institutions. There were also more than 1,700 members of the press from 200 international and local media agencies.

Five key seminars were held during the Annual Meetings, involving more than 200 financial chiefs, thought leaders and corporate captains as speakers and panelists. More than 3,000 participants took part in these seminars including the Raffles Forum by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the Program of Seminars by the IMF and World Bank, International Banking Seminar by the Group of Thirty, Per Jacobsson Lecture and the Institute of International Finance Annual Membership Meetings. Themed “Asia in the World, the World in Asia”, the Program of Seminars also featured prominent speakers including Dr Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, and Dr Y.V. Reddy, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

Luminaries such as Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economics (1998); Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times; and Michael Spence, Nobel Laureate in Economics (2001) shared their thought leadership and views on the events shaping Asia and the world at various seminars.

 
Senior Minister and MAS Chairman Goh Chok Tong speaking at the International Banking Seminar’s luncheon by the Group of Thirty on 19 September 2006.
The inaugural Raffles Forum on “Good Governance and the Wealth of Nations” brought together over 250 eminent individuals, including Ministers, Central Bank Governors, Nobel Laureates and senior business leaders. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Professor Lawrence Summers exchanged their views on good governance. China’s SASAC Li Rongrong threw new light on China’s new approaches to their state-owned enterprises. Other speakers including the Norwegian central bank chief Svein Gjedrem and Mr. Saeed Al-Hajeri, executive director at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, gave their views on the management and investment of a nation’s wealth.