Norbert Walter, chief economist of Deutsche Bank, pointed out recently that because of the large difference in the cultural background of Asian countries, there won't be a currency union formed in Asia like that of Europe until 2020. Walter forecasted that once the concept of Asian currency union is put into practice, China's RMB will probably become the core currency; Hong Kong is possibly to become the nucleus of the union, too.
"Time is not ripe, and far from being ripe for considering the establishment of an Asian currency union", said Doctor Walter in his speech on the concept of Asian currency union.
European people easily accepted the concept of taking German marks as the model and Deutsche Central Bank as the mode when they decided to set up a currency union, Walter said, however, it is rather difficult for Asian countries to translate the said concept into reality due to their different cultural background and the lack of strong political aspiration. Since the regional trade of Asia has exceeded 50 percent, if a common currency cannot be established in this region, countries here have to rely on the currency of a third nation for trade use. This virtually has exposed the involvement of tremendous risk.
In Walter's opinion, ASEAN plus China, Japan and the ROK should consider establishing an Asian research center to study Europe's experience in setting up a single-currency system.
(Xinhua News Agency 08/09/2001)
