ASEAN+3 set up $80b fund

Finance ministers of ASEAN countries and China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN+3) have agreed to arrange an $80 billion pool in Asian foreign exchange reserves to prevent any financial crisis.

Analysts said the move is an important first step for the region to set up a regular mechanism to ward off potential financial crisis in the future.

Initially, China, Japan and South Korea will contribute 80 percent of the pool while the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will make up the rest, the ministers said in a statement after a meeting in Madrid on Sunday.