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Copper and other base metals are turning into currencies

Section: Daily Dispatches

Single Asian Currency Comes a Step Closer to Reality

The Chosun Ilbo, Seoul, South Korea
Friday, January 13, 2006

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200601/200601130018.html

The Asian single currency, which so far exists only in the minds of
economists and officials with international organizations, will take
on more concrete reality soon.

The Asian Development Bank plans to publicize the Asian currency
unit (ACU), a notional unit of exchange based on a "basket" or
weighted average of currencies used in the 10 ASEAN member countries
plus South Korea, China, and Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun (Tokyo) and
others reported Friday.

But that does not mean that any bills or coins will circulate any
time soon. The ACU is only the first step toward the integration of
Asian currencies, a "virtual currency" that takes into consideration
gross domestic product and trade volume of each of the 13 nations
and serves as a gauge for governments to implement foreign exchange
policies. So far Japan and China have tried to make their own
national currency into the Asian currency, but their jostling in
effect canceled out the efforts of the other. That is why the ACU is
gaining support on the road to a single currency.

Given that it took more than 30 years for Europe to launch its
single currency, the euro, Asians also probably have a long road
ahead until the ACU or its successor chinks in their pockets.
However, it could take less time than in Europe, since internal
trade volume in the region is increasing faster than external trade
volume with the U.S. or Europe, according to Yun Deok-ryong, a
researcher with the Korea Institute for International Economic
Policy.

Still, many obstacles lie ahead. The U.S. above all is likely to
worry that it will lose its influence over Asian economies and use
the International Monetary Fund to block the introduction of the
ACU.

The launch of the Asian Monetary Fund, which is to coordinate
monetary policies in the region, faces objections from the U.S.,
which does not want to see an Asian single currency emerge as
another key currency along with the dollar and euro in the global
financial market, an official with the Ministry of Finance and
Economy said.

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