Policy-makers, international experts and representatives of Asset Management Companies (AMCs) in five Asian countries will gather in Ha Noi on Thursday at the International Public Asset Management Company Forum (IPAF) to discuss regional financial security and non-performing loans (NPLs) settlement plans.

Representatives from China, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam will attend the forum, organised by Viet Nam’s Debt and Asset Trading Corporation (DATC), Viet Nam’s Ministry of Finance and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

According to DATC Deputy Director Pham Manh Thuong, at the upcoming forum, global economic leaders will share best practices and search for more innovative and systematic NPL resolutions that will lead to a stable foundation for economic growth, thereby benefiting all people in the region.

“The primary mission of IPAF is to contribute to the stability of local and regional economies by promoting co-operation and partnership and sharing knowledge and expertise among public member AMCs,” he said. “Through co-operation among members, IPAF shall strengthen crisis response mechanisms in order to promote a more resilient regional economy.”

At the event, experts and decision makers will analyse the influential factors of a country’s financial security and forecast the trend of NPL settlement in the Asian market. This will serve as a basis for member states to develop their debt trading market and efficiently manage public assets while making policy recommendations to Governments on issues related to the handling of NPLs and bad assets, strengthening financial security and ensuring the stability of the national and regional economy.

IPAF aims to reinforce regional asset management companies through capacity building through annual summits and conferences, training courses and research papers.

At the Hanoi Conference in April 2012, co-hosted by ADB, Viet Nam’s finance ministry and the Republic of Korea’s Asset Management Cooperation (KAMCO), participants formally discussed the establishment of a regional co-operative organisation among public asset management companies.

The International Public Asset Management Company Forum (IPAF) was launched in May 2013 through the initiative of six AMCs from China, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam. IPAF was established to provide opportunities for collective actions to address regional economic issues through knowledge sharing and partnership development among its member AMCs.

The founding IPAF members were China Cinda Asset Management Co Ltd., China Great Wall Asset Management Corporation, China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd, Korea Asset Management Corporation, Sukhumvit Asset Management Co Ltd and Viet Nam’s Debt and Asset Trading Corporation. — VNS