This study adopts a public policy perspective in its examination of the way capital market intermediaries fund their market operations in eight of the most dynamic countries of East and Southeast Asia: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Concerns about the ability of securities firms to fund themselves came into prominence in the world's major financial markets during the 1980s. It is striking that similar concerns had not surfaced about the Asian capital markets, particularly given the weakness of their money markets. As the forces limiting demand for funds change in the future, the financial systems examined will encounter problems in responding to the new demands for liquidity.

Asian Money Markets traces the evolution of money markets in seven key economies of East and Southeast Asia: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. It asks how government policy affected the performance of the markets over several decades. Several very different approaches emerge, with important consequences for financial sector development. Countries pursuing market-oriented development strategies, including those in transition from socialist to market economies, need effective financial systems that include efficient money markets. This book should dispel the view that a government can quickly develop money markets; the most complex markets described here started with new government policies more than twenty years ago, and are still evolving to meet new challenges. Asian Money Markets will be of interest to scholars of development finance, financial officials and advisers, and anyone who wants to learn from the experience of some of the most dynamic economies in the world.