APRACA NewsBits- May- June 2010

APRACA NewsBits- May- June 2010

Tashkent – 17th APRACA GA Appoints Won-Sik Noh as new APRACA SG

The 17th APRACA General Assembly held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on June 17 appointed Mr. Won-Sik Noh as APRACA Secretary General beginning July 1, vice Mr. Benedicto S. Bayaua, whose term of office ended on June 30.

Mr. Noh was former Executive Vice-President of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) of the Republic of Korea. He received his M. A. in Economics from the Yonsei University in Seoul in 1996 and his B.A. in Agricultural Economics from the Seoul National University in 1976. He began his career at NACF in 1983 till his retirement in 2008. He had more than two years’ stint as Agricultural/Credit Cooperative Advisor from August 1996- February 1999 at the International Cooperative Alliance in Geneva, Switzerland .

Mr. Noh joins Mr. Ralph Houtman, Regional Marketing and Rural Finance Officer, UN- FAO-RAP, as ex-officio members of the APRACA EXCOM.

Tashkent – 17th APRACA GA Elects Biennium Officers

The 17th APRACA General Assembly elected in fitting ceremonies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on June 17 Mr. Abdurakhmat Boymuratov, Chairman of the Open Joint Stock Commercial “AgroBank” of Uzbekistan and Mrs. Tal Nay Im, Director General of the National Bank of Cambodia as APRACA Chairman and Vice-Chairman, respectively for biennium 2010- 2012.

Thirteen other EXCOM members were also elected. The full APRACA Executive Committee members for the new biennium are as follows:

APRACA Chairman

Mr. Abdurakhmat Boymuratov, Chairman of the Board, Joint-Stock Commercial Agro-Bank Bank, Uzbekistan

APRACA Vice-Chairman

H. E. Tal Nay Im, Director General, National Bank of Cambodia

Members of the APRACA Executive Committee

1. Hon. Murshid Kuli Khan, Deputy Governor, Bangladesh Bank

2. Mr. Zheng Hui, President, Agricultural Development Bank of China

3. Mr. Umesh C. Sarangi, Chairman, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, India

4. Mr. Sofyan Basyir, President and CEO, Bank Rakyat Indonesia

5. Dr. Mohammad Talebi, Chairman & Managing Director, Bank Keshavarzi, Iran

6. Mr. Masatoshi Sakano, Senior Managing Director, and General Manager, Agriculture Forestry, Fisheries and Food Business (AFC) Unit, Japan Finance Corporation

7. Mr. Choi Won-Byung, Chairman, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, Korea

8. Datuk Ahmad Said, Managing Director, AGRO Bank (Malaysia)

9. Hon. Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Governor, Nepal Rastra Bank

10. Ms. Jovita M. Corpuz, Executive Director, Agricultural Credit Policy Council of the Philippines and CENTRAB President

11. Mr. B.A.C. Fernando, General Manager-CEO, Bank of Ceylon

12. Mr. Luck Wajananawat, President, Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, Thailand

13. Mr. Pham Thanh Tan, CEO/General Director, Vietnam Bank for Agriculture And Rural Development

The EXCOM likewise held its 58th session on June 16, with Mr. Pham Thanh Tan, General Director of the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Development and outgoing APRACA Chairman as presiding officer.

Tashkent – Risk Management Forum Convened

FinPower held its 4th CEO Policy Forum, focusing on risk management in agriculture and rural lending in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on June 16. The forum was conducted interfacing with the 17th APRACA General Assembly and the 58th APRACA Executive Committee meetings.

APRACA FinPower has conducted since 2007 four CEO Policy Forums in as many years, focusing on rural finance policy and regulatory framework, participatory dialogue and the impact of the financial crisis on key rural finance stakeholders and now on risk management.

This CEO Policy Forum focused on risk management: risks as they are affecting the rural population involved in agriculture, fisheries and forestry as well as risks as they are affecting rural financial institutions’ viability, sustainability and their capacity to provide continuous access to financial products and services by their clients.

The forum intended to a) to take stock of the status of risk reducing, risk mitigating and risk coping strategies and mechanisms of farmers, fishermen and forest dwellers as well as the risk management strategies employed by rural financial institutions to protect the institution as well as its clients; b) to identify innovations and best practices; c) share experiences in risk management; and finally d) to activate a recommended regional plan of action and corresponding national plans of action for further strengthening risk-reducing, risk-mitigating and risk-coping mechanisms.

The forum was opened by Central Bank of Uzbekistan Deputy Chairrman Shukhrat Khaydarov, with complimentary address from Open Joint-Stock Commercial Bank “AgroBank” of Uzbekistan Chairman Abdurakhmat Boymuratov (APRACA Vice-Chairman) and vote of thanks by NABARD Chairman Umesh Sarangi. VBARD Chairman and outgoing APRACA Chairman Pham Thanh Tan delivered his closing address.

Papers were presented by NABARD Executive Director S. K. Mitra, ACPC Deputy Executive Director Ramon Yedra, BAAC Executive Vice-President Kamolpant Asaves, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation Division Chief You-Kyung Kim, Open Joint-Stock Commercial Bank “AgroBank”Agricultural Loans Department Head Utkir Butaev and IFAD Rural Poverty Reduction Program, Mongolia Programme Support Unit Director Mr. Dagva Dalaintiyam. Close to 100 delegates attended the forum.