cat/policy-and-financial-infrastructure
When the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance came to power with a resounding majority last year, it had inherited a frail economy. Twelve months on, the macros are looking better, growth is inching up, inflation has tempered and current account deficit is in the safe zone.
I greatly enjoyed this workshop we co-hosted with our Malaysian colleagues. It was a chance to talk about innovations in SME finance in a country that is pushing the frontiers in this area in many ways. We talked about alternative products, alternative institutions, and about the role the growing Islamic finance field can play in improving finance for smaller firms by renewing a focus on asset-based financing. We paid particular attention, due to our focus on APEC policy matters, on the implications of this innovation for regulator, and this attracted considerable attention in the media, as you can see in this press article.
Speakers included international experts such as Giuseppe Gramigna, Chief Economist of the US Small Business Administration, Dr. Robin Varghese of the Policy and Economics Research Council (PERC), John Owens, the lead advisor on digital finance issues for the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, Shigehiro Shinozaki of the Asian Development Bank, and Ahmed Mohamed Tawfick Rostom from the World Bank's Islamic finance global team. They also included key regional and local experts such as Dato' Hafsah Hashim, CEO of Malaysia's SME Finance Corporation, Ms. Salinee Wangtal, Chairman of the SME Development Bank of Thailand, Geoffrey Heenan, IMF Resident Representative, Jamaludin Bujang, CEO of Malaysia Venture Capital Management, and Leo Shimada, CEO of Crowdonomic, a regional crowdfunding platform.
The presentations from the workshop are found through the link given below.
I welcome further discussion of the event from any and all.
matt
The priorities to be advanced by APEC during the Philippines’ year as Chair in 2015 were set by Senior Officials from the region’s 21 member economies at the conclusion of a key two-day planning meeting on Tuesday in Manila, with focus on expanding the benefits for more of the region’s 3 billion people and powering a new generation of trade, investment and sustainable economic growth amid changing global conditions. Fostering SMEs' participation in the regional and global economy has been identified as one of the key focus areas for 2015.
Please see the link for the official announcement from the Turkish government. 2015 should be a very exciting one for SME finance and SME development. Turkey has been a leader in the SME agenda of the G20 since its inception, and has served as co-chair of the SME finance subgroup since SME finance became a priority for the G20 in 2009. As a technical partner to the G20's Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, the SME Finance Forum looks forwarding to supporting the Turkish agenda during this coming year.
Our readers may also see that Turkey will be forming a new global body to represent SMEs' own interests during 2015. Unfortunately the working name for this entity is "SME Forum", which risks some brand confusion, for obvious reasons!. We'll also be working with our G20 colleagues on this, hopefully with some resolution that helps build and grow this very worthwhile complementary institution, while avoiding too many cases of mistaken identity.
matt
This paper is a contribution to United Nation (UN)-led efforts to articulate a post-2015 development framework, building on the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It focuses on the challenge of financing development goals and complements the extensive work conducted by the United Nations and other institutions, including the World Bank Group. The paper is structured as follows.
The upcoming Post-2015 development agenda will be more ambitious than its predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals. The new agenda embraces concepts of environmental, social and economic sustainability. Achieving these transformational goals will require financing that goes beyond current resources, while focusing on being innovative and inclusive. The event will explore how to facilitate an effective launch of the post-2015 agenda with all partners.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan’s warning to sarakari banks, on a hunt to win maximum number of bank accounts in minimum days to make Narendra Modi government’s flagship financial inclusion scheme Jan Dhan Yojana a success, reflects the regulator’s concern on the way government using state-run banks to push its populist agenda overlooking prudential norms. On Monday, speaking at a banking conference, Rajan highlighted the risks of hurrying for bank accounts under the government scheme. "When we roll out the scheme, we have to make sure it does not go off the track.
The first instalment of India’s ambitious financial inclusion plans kicked off last week, as 15m bank accounts were opened on Thursday, the first day of the Jan Dhan Yojana scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new initiative for every Indian household to have at least one bank account by 2018. Yet, the proliferation of cell phones and mobile money begs one important question: do we still need traditional bank accounts?
This paper surveys the state of SME finance in sub- Saharan Africa. The authors use Enterprise Survey data from the World Bank to explore cross-country and cross-firm variation in the use of financial services. They document lower use of financial services by firms inside than outside Africa and by smaller and younger firms.
Following the 2008-09 global financial crisis, regulators have favored a more protective approach to ring-fencing capital and liquidity. The OECD Secretariat is increasingly active in international discussions on the structural reform of banks’ business models. This paper calls for independent analysis of any proposed regulations on restructuring banks’ business models, demonstrating the costs and benefits, and taking into account the impacts of the current reform programs once fully implemented.
