Minister back

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33520, 29 April 1974, Page 2

Minister back

(HZ. Press Association)

WELLINGTON, April 28. The Minister of Finance (Mr Rowling) has been elected chairman of the board of governors of the Asian Development Bank for 1974-75.

He is the first New Zealander to hold the position.

Mr Rowling returned to Wellington tonight after attending a three-day meeting of the bank in Kuala Lumpur. Before that he had several days of talks in Japan with Japanese Ministers. He also met the heads of banking and finance houses to seek their views on likely trends In the capital market in early 1975. The Asian Development Bank meeting was pre-

occupied with the energy crisis and the impact this would have on the developing nations in the bank, said Mr Rowling tonight. A New Zealand suggestion for money to be made available at concessional rates of interest, so that the bank could keep its rates down and help members surmount the crisis, was well received. Mr Rowling said New Zealand's part in such a scheme woulo obviously be very small. The bank last year lent SUS42Im, so it was up to the big nations and the oil producers themselves to supply such concessional-rate capital. Mr Rowling described the Japanese talks as “an extremely satisfactory working trip.”