As Co-Chair of the ASEAN Senior Level Committee on Financial Integration (SLC) for the 2024-2026 period, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha co-chaired the 29th SLC’s Meeting held on March 13, 2025 in Malaysia.
Deputy Governors of the ASEAN central banks take a photo together at the SLC Meeting
The 29th Meeting of the SLC was held under the co-chair of the Deputy Governors of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and Bank Indonesia, and was attended by the Deputy Governors of the central banks of the ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste (participating as an observer), the Co-Chairs of the ASEAN Banking Cooperation Working Groups, and representatives from several international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the ASEAN Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Banking Association.
Delivering his opening speech, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha shared that the 29th Meeting of the SLC was held in the context that ASEAN economies have continued to maintain its resilience with stable growth forecasts for 2025, despite many challenges, including external uncertainties and fluctuations in the financial markets. That emphasizes the important role of the SLC in promoting the cooperation, information sharing and policy coordination to respond to emerging economic risks. Especially, 2025 also marks an important milestone when the member states would engage in developing the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Strategic Plan for the 2026-2030 period.
Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha co-chairs the SLC Meeting in 2025
The Policy Dialogue between the ASEAN Central Banks’ Deputy Governors and representatives from the international organizations on the regional and international macroeconomic outlooks
At the opening of the Dialogue on the regional and international macroeconomic developments, according to the IMF, the economic growth in 2024 had generally been robust, the inflationary pressures had been gradually returning to the target levels. However, the IMF also warned about a number of risks threatening the economic growth, including uncertainties in the trade policies, the geopolitical tensions, the exchange rate and foreign reserve pressures due to the global instabilities
For AMRO, growth in the ASEAN+3 region is forecast to remain above 4% in the 2025-2026 period, supported by the stable domestic demands and a recovery in exports, particularly in the manufacturing and tourism sectors. The inflation is expected to rise slightly to 1.7% in 2025, but remain low, supported by cooling global commodity prices and contained inflation expectations. However, AMRO highlighted the risks to watch out for, including the uncertainties over the US trade policy, the geopolitical tensions, and their spillovers to the region. Against this backdrop, AMRO recommended that the ASEAN+3 economies maintain flexible monetary policies, promote fiscal consolidation and regional cooperation to cope with global uncertainties, ensuring a stable growth in the future.
Speaking at the Meeting, Mr. To Huy Vu, Director General of the SBV International Cooperation Department, expressed his agreement with the assessments of the IMF and AMRO related to the risks and challenges to the global and regional growth. In that context, the SBV emphasized the importance of the regional cooperation and the macroeconomic stability to enhance the economic resilience and promote a sustainable growth. Regarding Vietnam's economic situation, the representative from the SBV shared that the GDP in 2024 was estimated to reach 7.09%, among the highest growing economies in the region. However, he also mentioned the external risks, including the geopolitical tensions, the supply chain disruptions, and the global monetary policy changes.
Director General of the SBV International Cooperation Department speaks at the Meeting
Activities of the ASEAN Working Groups on Banking Cooperation
Within the framework of the Meeting, under the coordination of the SBV and Bank Indonesia, the ASEAN Banking Cooperation Working Groups reported on the implementation process of initiatives and activities in 2024, as well as the orientations in the coming time. The SBV Deputy Governor highly complimented the efforts of the Working Groups in implementing the priority activities of 2024, thereby contributing significantly to promoting the financial inclusion, the liberalization of capital accounts, strengthening the payment systems’ connectivity,… towards the goal of multilateral connection in the ASEAN region. The Deputy Governors agreed to adopt the priorities of the Working Groups for 2025 and welcomed the Groups’ efforts in proposing and developing the strategic activities and the new key performance indicators (KPIs) for the 2026-2030 period, in accordance with the 2026-2030 Strategic Plan.
Toward the end of the Meeting, the Deputy Governors expressed their high recognition and appreciation to the Central Bank of Malaysia for having successfully hosted the 29th Meeting of the SLC. The delegates also acknowledged the efforts of the SBV and Bank of Indonesia in promoting the effective implementation of the initiatives and cooperation activities within the framework of the ASEAN financial and banking cooperation, thereby enabling the ASEAN region to continue its deep integration and maintain a relative stability in the context of many uncertainties with the global economy.
HY