Asean countries should tap US$10 trillion of foreign reserves held by China, Japan and South Korea to stabilise their stock markets that have been roiled by Washington’s punishing tariffs, according to a former Malaysian central banker, as global investors lost trillions of dollars in the ensuing turmoil.
Economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are due to meet in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to discuss a unified response to the tariffs.
More than half of the bloc’s 10 members have been slapped with levies of between 24 per cent and 49 per cent on their exports to the US, with the aggressive tariff moves by President Donald Trump threatening to derail the region’s economic growth.
China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea hold combined net foreign exchange reserves and assets of about US$10 trillion, which present ample opportunity for Asean members to tap the funds in East Asia and grow their stock markets, according to Sheng.
