jun il kim : achieving balanced growth and promoting economic development opening remarks by mr jun il kim, deputy governor of the bank of korea, at the international seminar 2012, hosted jointly by the bank of korea and the daegu - gyeongbuk development institute, daegu - gyeongbuk, 14 november 2012. * * * good afternoon. distinguished speakers, participants, and ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to speak at this international seminar hosted jointly by the bank of korea and the daegu - gyeongbuk development institute. i am very grateful to all speakers, particularly those who traveled from abroad to attend this seminar, and president seong - keun lee of the daegu - gyeongbuk development institute. i find this seminar is quite timely, and addresses very topical issues that we should tackle to achieve balanced growth. balanced growth has received a great deal of attention not only at the national level but also at the international level. global imbalances were at the root of the global crisis. the euro ’ s fragility as a common currency also stems from the growing imbalances within the euro area, particularly between the core and the periphery. indeed, the central theme of the g20 process is to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth. balanced regional growth is an imperative from korea ’ s perspective, given its far reaching implications on economic resilience and social cohesion. for instance, uneven economic development across regions over the past five decades or so has resulted in too much concentration of economic activities in the seoul metropolitan area and therefore too little utilization of available resources of other regions. such regional disparity has then undermined social cohesion, political unity, and economic competitiveness of the national economy. moreover, it is never optimal from the efficiency point of view because the marginal return on investment is far from being equalized across regions. daegu - gyeongbuk region is a victim of such regional disparity. at present, it accounts for about 10 percent of national gdp and population, down from above 12 percent two decades ago. it was a home of korea ’ s prospering textile industry until the 1980s but gave its way to china afterwards. this region has struggled since then to find a new engine of growth, despite some limited success in attracting investment in mobile electronics and steel industries. i believe that key to successful regional economic development is the quality of less mobile production

peter pang : recent financial and economic developments in asia statement by mr peter pang, temporary alternate governor of the hong kong monetary authority, at the 38th asian development bank annual meeting, istanbul, turkey, 4 - 6 may 2005. * * * mr president, let me first of all congratulate you on your election as president of the bank. i must next thank turkey for graciously hosting this year's annual meeting. i also join other governors to thank the bank's management and staff for the excellent arrangements. i would like to take this opportunity to welcome the successful conclusion of the 8th replenishment of the asian development fund. this would enable the bank to continue with its programme in offering much needed relief to the poorest people in asia. however, while real gdp growth in the region has been impressive, up 7. 3 % in 2004, income distribution remains highly uneven. the toll on human lives, and the massive destruction left behind by the tsunami attack last december, reminded us that fighting poverty remains both a continuing – and daunting – task for the bank. while the bank has done a commendable job in reducing poverty in the low - income economies, those members who have attained a reasonable level of development have a different set of needs. with global financial markets awash with liquidity, many of them have ready access to private capital, and have less of a need to turn to the bank for lending. the greatest challenge to these emerging markets is how to achieve a more balanced and sustainable growth in the midst of globalisation. as more economies in the region move to the middle - income category, i urge the bank to proactively consider ways and means to help them meet the new challenges of changing times. sustainability of the region ’ s future growth seems to lie in the growing trend of intra - regional trade and economic interdependence. asia is highly integrated in trade. propelled by vertical integration of the production process, intra - regional trade grew by 14 % a year between 1995 and 2003, while world exports increased only 7. 5 %. compared to trade, integration in the financial sector has been progressing at a much slower pace. as a result, the very substantial volume of foreign reserves accumulated in the region, of some us $ 500 billion last year alone, goes mainly to the developed rather than the regional markets. when some of the capital from the developed market is recycled back to the region, it is of a more volatile and repercus