2012

Senior Research Staff from PIIE visits the IIMA

We had a visit of Mr. Jacob Kirkegaard from the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) in the US on December 12 2012. Mr. Kirkegaard gave a lecture on the Euro issue and the economy of the US. On the Euro he showed a view that the ECB presents a strong political leadership to prevent the euro from collapsing while on the US economy he showed a cautious view that two major factors that had inflated the US economy in the past, over consumptions and Hispanic immigration, would never be the same in the future. His presentation was followed by vigorous discussions with the audience.

Mr. Yoshihiro Watanabe was conferred Chartered Islamic Finance Professional degree (Master equiv.)

 IIMA Managing Director Yoshihiro Watanabe was conferred the degree at post graduate school of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) at a ceremony on October 20, 2012 in Kuala Lumpur. The photograph shows Mr. Watanabe receiving the Chartered Islamic Finance Professional diploma from Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, INCEIF Chancellor and Bank Negara Malaysia Governor.

Visit of Central Bank of Norway to the IIMA

 On October 10, 2012, the IIMA received a delegation of Central Bank of Norway and Norges Bank headed by Ms. Anne Christiansen, director of international department of Central Bank of Norway. Mr. Sakuma, general manager and chief economist of the IIMA, gave a lecture on the issues of Japanese economy such as the Yen appreciation, deflation and ageing. After that we exchanged our views about overall problems of the Japanese and Norwegian economy.

Visit of the chief economist of Societe Generale to the IIMA

 On October 10, 2012, Mr. Olivier Garnier the chief economist of Societe Generale visited the IIMA. Mr. Sakuma, general manager and chief economist and two other staffs of the IIMA discussed issues of Euro zone and Japanese economy such as supervision of European banks, sovereign debt problem of European counties and the yen appreciation.

Partnering with Malaysia’s GMMF

May 24, 2012, IIMA and GMMF (Global Movement of Moderates Foundation in Malaysia) concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance smooth communication between the two institutions in Kuala Lumpur. With Hon. Awang Adek bin Hussin, Deputy Minister of Finance II in attendance, the MOU was signed between Mr. Khalek Awang, CEO, GMMF and Mr. Yoshihiro Watanabe, Managing Director, IIMA.
GMMF was launched by the initiative of Hon. Dato Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, to spread moderation globally over all forms of extremism.

Malaysia’s GMMF visits IIMA

 April 26, 2012, IIMA received two top executives of the Global Movement for Moderates Foundation (GMMF) : Mr. Khalek Bin Awang, CEO, and Mr. Phar Kim Beng, and had a discussion session with experts invited. GMMF was launched by the initiative of Hon. Dato Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, to spread moderation globally over all forms of extremism.
GMMF advocates as the following:
The stability of the international community is threatened by a handful of extremists clouding out the voices of the majority, moderates. The real divide is between extremists and moderates, not between religions, ethnicities, nor regions, where extremists exploit. The voice of moderates valuing conflict resolution through negotiation, not confrontation, should be strengthened and expanded globally. GMMF also emphasizes that moderation is required in the international economic arena driven by excessive profit and greed.
GMMF and IIMA will have close contact in the future.

Visit of Chilean delegation to the IIMA

 On March 29, 2012, the IIMA received a delegation of Chilean business leaders headed by Mr. Lorenzo Constan, president of Confederation of Production and Commerce in Chile. Mr. Watanabe, managing director of the IIMA, gave a lecture on the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake to the Japanese economy and growth strategy and the future of Japan. After that we discussed fiscal problems, demographic situation and market potentiality of Japan.

Report on The Asia-Pacific Financial Inclusion Forum

The Asia-Pacific Financial Inclusion Forum
Date：6-8 September 2011
Place：Tokyo, Japan
Organizer：ADBI/ABAC
Theme：Expanding Financial Access through Regional Public-Private Cooperation

IIMA was a collaborator of the Forum.

(Click here for the report)

EBRD delegation in IIMA

 March 6, 2012, IIMA received a delegation from the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: HQ London) headed by Mr. Enzo Quattrociocche, Secretary General, accompanied by Mr. Alan Rousso, Managing Director, Stakeholder Relations, and Ms. Junko Aya, Senior Manager, Official Co-Financing. The EBRD delegation updated IIMA with their operations in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Mongolia, Turkey, and Russia. They also shared with IIMA their challenges in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region, newly mandated region to expand its operations. EBRD and IIMA also exchanged views on Japanese private investments in the EBRD's countries of operations.

The international students of Niigata University visited the IIMA.

On January 6, 2012, the IIMA had a visit of nine international students of Niigata University. We had one and a half hours' meeting (in total) for lectures of our researchers followed by deep discussions by all the present on the world economic and financial issues including European sovereign debt crisis and desirable architecture for stable foreign exchange regime in Asia.