Summary

This work examines the various policy options open to the ten countries of the region for improving and diversifying their financial resources. The Asian financial crisis exposed the vulnerabilities of Southeast Asia's bank-based finance sector, and illustrated the pressing need to develop a more robust and multi-faceted financial infrastructure across the region. Looking ahead, sustained economic development in Southeast Asia will be constrained unless the region can embrace new sources of capital. Authored by experts in their respective fields, the chapters of this book examine such issues as the region's current debt burden, the region's banking sector since the 1997-98 crisis, micro-financing efforts in the region, new opportunities in project financing, developing venture capital capabilities, reviving foreign direct investment inflows, creating bond markets, developing the region's lacklustre equity markets and the potential benefits of financial integration.