Bangkok, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)–Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 major economies met in Bangkok on Thursday to discuss ways to address rising inflation as crude oil prices remain high amid turmoil in the Middle East. Participants also discussed coordinating their policies to stabilize financial markets in light of a global rise in long-term interest rates, fueled in part by growing concerns over deteriorating government finances. The meeting, held in the Thai capital on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, ended without the adoption of a joint statement. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda represented Japan at the meeting. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was absent as he prioritized dealing with domestic economic issues ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, despite the United States holding this year’s G20 presidency. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Katayama said international financial markets, including bond and currency markets, were “volatile.” She also said that massive corporate bond issuance by U.S. technology companies racing to build data centers for artificial intelligence was contributing to rising interest rates. The Japanese finance minister said meeting participants reaffirmed the G20 economies’ April 2021 agreement that excessive volatility and disorderly movements in currency exchange rates have adverse economic effects. Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of Seven major democracies are slated to meet later Thursday to discuss how to address the risk that cutting-edge AI models could be misused for cyberattacks, disrupting economic and social activities. They are also expected to discuss ways to rectify global current account imbalances, apparently with China’s excess capacity in mind. Katayama is set to be elected chair of the World Bank-IMF Development Committee at a meeting on Thursday, making her the first Japanese national to chair the committee since its establishment in 1974. Her two-year term will run through October 2028. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
