Euromoney, the world’s leading financial magazine, last night announced the winners of its prestigious annual awards for the leading central bank governor and minister of finance in the global economy.
At a reception held in Raffles Plaza Hotel in Singapore during the 2006 IMF/World Bank meetings and attended by more than 400 people, the awards were presented to Riad Salamé, the governor of the Banque du Liban, and Dr Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the minister of finance of Indonesia, by the chairman of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC Padraic Fallon.
Fallon said that Salamé faced yet another challenge in his 13-year tenure as Lebanon’s central bank governor after the conflict between Hizbollah and Israel. However he had dealt with previous challenges with flying colours, and there was little to suggest it would be any different this time.
Euromoney said in its citation: “There has been no meltdown in Lebanon’s financial markets, or a run on the banks or major sell-off in the currency. That is largely attributable to the foundations laid by the battle-hardened central bank. The bank has, for example, built up its foreign reserves to $13 billion, acting as a safety net in ensuring the Lebanese pound remains stable. The banking system is solvent and liquid, and has worked closely with the central bank to minimise disruption. At no point was there a risk that Lebanon may default on its debt.”
However, the award reflects Salamé’s achievements throughout his tenure much more than his reaction to recent events. Fallon said he “is the dominant financial figure in Lebanon, and gains enormous respect for rising above the political fray”.
Salamé is credited with steering Lebanon through another crisis in February 2005, when the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri led to about $2 billion of deposits being withdrawn from the country and $5.5 billion being converted into US dollars. His actions included swap operations, issuing dollar certificates of deposit, shoring up local banks’ ratings and culminated in highly successful Eurobond issues in October 2005 and March 2006.
The IMF has noted that the central bank has been alone in carrying the burden of financial stability and managing the macroeconomic situation in Lebanon, and has called on the government to share the burden.
Euromoney’s minister of finance of the year, Dr Sri Mulyani Indrawati, was praised for her integral role in helping to boost Indonesia’s economy as well as its standing in the international financial markets.
Fallon said that one of Mulyani’s achievements was to bring stability and confidence: “Bankers and investors tell us that to have someone like Mulyani as finance minister gives a feeling of confidence, a sense that she is always in control. Any observer of Indonesia should take comfort in that.”
Among Mulyani’s achievements cited by Euromoney were: bringing inflation under control, enabling the Bank of Indonesia to lower interest rates, a much-needed move to get the country’s economy to grow more quickly; burgeoning foreign exchange reserves, which have allowed Indonesia to pre-pay half of its outstanding debt to the IMF; improving sovereign credit ratings; and a key role in fighting corruption, which has proved to be a brake on the infrastructure spending which is crucial to the country’s economic improvement.
Fallon concluded: “As the government of SBY gets to grips with Indonesia’s problems and steer its economy towards a long-term growth trajectory, Mulyani’s role in that collective effort will be crucial. She has already proved that she is determined to make the right choices. That is encouraging for the future of Indonesia.”
Euromoney’s central bank and minister of finance of the year awards are regarded as the most prestigious to be handed out during the annual IMF/World Bank meetings. They were first awarded in 1981. For full articles on each of the winners, please log on to www.euromoney.com.
