Chandula to talk on cross border microfinance at APEC Inclusion Forum

Chairman of the Banking With the Poor Network and Deputy General Manager – Development Banking of Hatton National Bank Chandula Abeywickrema has been invited to share the lead session on cross-border microfinance at the APEC Financial Inclusion Forum to be held in June 2012 in Shanghai, China.

The Asia Pacific Forum and the Financial Inclusion is jointly organised by the Asian Development Bank, Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Centre and APEC Business Advisory Council in collaboration with the Banking With The Poor Network, China Association of Microfinance, Citi Foundation and the Foundation for Development Cooperation. The Forum will focus on approaches, regulations and cross-border issues on the financial inclusion.

Abeywickrema, who is an international expert in financial inclusion/microfinance, currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Banking With The Poor Network, which is the largest Asia based microfinance network. He is also an independent Director of Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia) Ltd., which is one of the largest microfinance companies in Cambodia. He also serves in a number of international organisations working towards financial inclusion and microfinance.

With his wide international exposure and expertise on financial inclusion, he would address some of the key initiatives on cross-border microfinance. Some of the areas that would cover:

•  Possibility/regulations on cross border cooperation of microfinance institutions
• Facilitating product development for migrant families, securitisation of migrants’ remittances and diasporas bonds
• Regulations/policies on internet/mobile phone remittances
• Legal recognition of electronic and mobile money
• Transnational implications of electronic money
• Pilot on cross-border credit information flows with focus on select countries with large migrant labour force

The preliminary agenda for this workshop includes the following topics: (i) innovative approaches to promote financial literacy; (ii) Information, credit bureaus and regulations; (iii) micro-finance regulations; (iv) consumer protection; and (v) facilitating cross-border microfinance.

Outputs of the session include better understanding of how to improve financial inclusion; policy recommendations for financial inclusion and closer cooperation among key stakeholders handling this issue.

Participants will be Governments from each of the following countries will be invited to nominate one participant who could provide a regulatory perspective and one who could provide a development policy perspective on financial inclusion issues: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, PRC, Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam; Asia-Pacific Financial Development Center (AFDC) will invite Chinese representatives from relevant area and expertise and Relevant representatives from business and civil society sectors.

Some of the key speakers at the forum are Wang Lili, Executive Director and Senior Executive Vice President, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Bob Annibale, Global Director of Citi Community Development & Microfinance Matt Gamser, Chief Operations Officer,Head, SME Finance Forum, IFC(focus on including non-bank financial institutions, MFIs in particular), Michael Schlein, President &CEO of Accion International (focus – Road Map for the Microfinance Industry: Focusing on Responsible and Client-Centered Microfinance).