Releases 'Rapid Funding' for Disasters and Pandemics... ASEAN+3 RFF Launches

Amendments to the CMIM Agreement Take Effect

The Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM), the ASEAN+3 regional financial safety net, will formally launch the Rapid Financing Facility (RFF), which responds to sudden external shocks such as natural disasters and pandemics.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy said on November 10 that the amendments to the CMIM Agreement introducing and implementing the RFF will take effect on November 11, following the completion of the signing process by 27 institutions in CMIM member countries on November 4. The CMIM is a regional multilateral currency swap arrangement involving 27 institutions, including the 10 ASEAN member states, the finance ministries and central banks of Korea, China and Japan, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

The RFF provides short-term liquidity quickly when external shocks, such as pandemics and natural disasters, create urgent funding needs. Its support ceiling is up to 50% of the member country's available drawing amount, higher than the ceiling under existing CMIM lending facilities. However, when support is not linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it is provided within a limit of 20%. 

The RFF was pursued after participants agreed on the need to strengthen the regional financial safety net at the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meeting in May 2024, when Korea served as co-chair. Amendments to the agreement were then prepared in May 2025, followed by administrative procedures, including the signing by all member countries.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy said it expects that "the formal launch of the Rapid Financing Facility following these amendments will strengthen the CMIM's crisis response capacity, including its provision of short-term liquidity support during crises."

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