More of APEC's goals for the future are now to move into areas that no one else has worked in. For bank supervision, APEC simply wants to get people to meet standards instead of writing a whole new set of rules and regulations. The IMF, OECD and WTO each have bank standards, and APEC wants to get everyone to comply to them. The Ambassador was asked about the currency boards in Malaysia. Malaysia took an unorthodox approach to its financial problems by closing off capital flows.
Malaysian exporters say that conditions are good and companies can do business there.
Ambassador Boucher replied by explaining that there are various aspects to IMF prescriptions. In the last ten years the IMF has been dealing with these prescription problems and continues to do so. Countries such as Thailand and the Philippines have followed the IMF prescriptions and have done well. Those like Indonesia however, did not meet IMF targets and therefore did not do so well. The next APEC meeting that will be held in 2000 in Brunei, where e-commerce, small and medium sized enterprises, and youth will be discussed.