Asia acts to bolster markets on cue from Europe, U.S.

A trader on the floor of the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati City, Metro Manila in this October 10, 2008 file photo.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian policymakers rushed on Monday to do their part in averting a global financial meltdown, boosting guarantees for depositors, promising to pump more cash into the battered credit markets and talking up their economies.

The region's authorities have long insisted that limited exposure of their financial institutions to the toxic U.S. housing debt and sound economic fundamentals made Asia well placed to weather the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

But last week's global equity markets sell-off that wiped out about a fifth of their value and spurred U.S. and European authorities to rush out bank bailout plans, set off alarm bells in the region, particularly in countries that suffered the most during the financial crisis a decade ago.

Indonesia raised the government guarantee on bank deposits and made it easier for the central bank to pump funds into the tight money market, following a similar move by Australian and New Zealand authorities over the weekend.

India pledged more for the money market after slashing cash reserve requirements while South Korea repeated assurances its reserve stockpile was sufficient to ride out the global storm and confirmed plans to give banks better access to private capital.

Authorities in Singapore, Hong Kong and Bahrain also sought to calm investors with assurances that their banking systems were sound and that they stood ready to intervene if necessary.

"There has been unprecedented policy action around the world, including in India, and this has provided a short-term stability to the markets," said Amitabh Chakraborty, president of equities at Religare Securities.

Japan, where a failed medium-sized insurer became the country's first casualty of the global credit turmoil last week, said on Monday it would consider guaranteeing all bank deposits, if such a move proved necessary.

ASIAN VIEW

Mindful of the financial crisis that brought Asian's economic "tigers" to their knees a decade ago, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called on Monday for Asian nations to be consulted in reshaping the financial world.

"I am urging the developed countries or G7 to consider the interest of developing countries in their plan to prevent a worldwide economic meltdown," Arroyo said as she called for a meeting of Southeast Asian nations plus economic giants China and Japan as well as South Korea next week.

Stock markets gained across the region on Monday after weekend crisis talks in the United States and Europe produced a flurry of initiatives to shore up their banks and local authorities sought to do their bit to restore market confidence.

Indonesia boosted its bank deposit guarantee to 2 billion rupiah ($203,000), helping the local stock market wipe out initial losses after it reopened following a three-day trading halt aimed.

A 10 percent limit imposed by the stock exchange on price swings, also helped underpin the market that lost nearly half of its value so far this year.

In India, stocks rallied 7 percent and overnight cash rates fell to 9.75/10.00 percent after they spiked above 20 percent in Friday thanks to a 150 basis point cut in banks' cash reserves and promises of more cash injections.

"We are working on more measures that will infuse liquidity, make credit intermediation smoother, and increase confidence of depositors and investors," Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told a news conference.

Shares of ICICI Bank, India's second-largest lender, surged over 20 percent after its chief executive assured investors concerned about the bank's exposure to the credit turmoil that its deposits were safe.

In South Korea, where a rising current account deficit has revived the memories of the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis that almost derailed its economy, the bruised won currency and the local stocks gained and the authorities were quick to offer extra support.

Finance Minister Kang Man-soo told Reuters in an interview in Washington that not only the country's ample $240 billion in foreign reserves, but also its banks and corporations were in a better shape than 10 years ago.

"Our commercial banks are very sound and our companies' situation -- especially the debt/asset ratio -- is relatively sound. Therefore, on the banking side and the real side, we can absorb the shock from abroad," he said.

The South Korean authorities also announced plans to raise the limit for non-financial companies' investments in domestic banks and make it easier for pension and private equity funds to become controlling shareholders in lenders.