Monetary and Financial Integration in Asia: Introduction

Surging growth and rising interdependence of East-Asian economies during the last two decades have heightened interest in monetary and financial integration. From 1985 to 2005, the share of intra-regional trade in total trade for the South-East and East Asian region (including Japan) grew from 28% to 34%. Around the middle of this period, in 1997, the rapid propagation of the Thai currency crisis over South-East Asia lent urgency to accompanying economic integration with steps toward monetary and financial integration and for jointly improving the quality of financial supervision in the region.