Ho Chi Minh City: Asian countries, facing inflows of funds, are considering capital controls as a policy response, officials at HSBC Holdings and Barclays said.
"It's a policy option that's on the table," Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC, said Sunday at the World Economic Forum in Ho Chi Minh City. HSBC is having talks with government officials about the possibility, Neumann said. "There's a growing appetite to do so."
The recommendation comes after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April voiced its support for taxes on capital inflows to help stem excessive appreciation in some Latin American currencies. A UN agency last month also touted similar measures, saying China, India, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea are most at risk from swings in short-term capital.
Taiwan's central bank governor told an Asian Development Bank meeting last month that dev-eloping nations need to adopt curbs to address "disorderly" foreign-exchange moves.
