The history of The SEACEN Centre is closely tied with the annual meetings of the governors of South East Asian central banks. In February 1966, a group of governors of some South East Asian central banks met in Bangkok, Thailand, to exchange information and ideas on matters affecting their economies and financial systems. The meeting was attended by seven heads/representatives of the central banks and monetary authorities of Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

The discussions during the initial annual meetings were focused on the exchange of information and ideas on economic and financial conditions of the individual countries. Much emphasis was placed on the setting up of a South East Asian voting group to represent the interests of SEACEN countries in the International Monetary
Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (now known as the World Bank), and the Asian Development Bank. It is now a matter of record that the South East Asian Voting Group was subsequently established and is still in existence although the composition of the Voting Group is not exactly the same as the membership of The SEACEN Centre.

The idea of establishing SEACEN was mooted...

The idea of setting up a centre for monetary studies and training in the region was mooted during the Second Governors Conference held in Baguio, the Philippines in 1967. The subsequent annual conferences of the governors discussed the feasibility of establishing a centre for monetary studies in Manila, with a regional training centre located in Kuala Lumpur. Committees created by the governors looked into these aspects and at their seventh meeting in Kuala Lumpur in 1972, it was agreed that a single centre for both research and training be established in Kuala Lumpur.

The SEACEN Centre started to operate on an informal basis in 1972 by conducting training courses, relying on the resources of member central banks and monetary authorities, notably those of Bank Negara Malaysia’s Staff Training Centre. The first SEACEN course was on Management of Financial Institutions held in Bank Negara Malaysia's Staff Training Centre from 17 April to 13 May 1972. Twenty-two participants from Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam attended the course. On 15 January 1977, just prior to the Twelfth Governors’ Conference, The SEACEN Centre’s building which was constructed by Bank Negara Malaysia, was inaugurated by Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Finally...The SEACEN Centre as a legal entity

Work to establish The SEACEN Centre as a separate legal entity commenced in 1973 to enable the Centre to recruit international professional staff to carry out its functions and activities. On 3 February 1982, the Agreement among the SEACEN Central Banks on the South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) Research and Training Centre was signed by Mr. Rachmat Saleh, Governor of Bank Indonesia; Mr. Abdul Aziz bin Haji Taha, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia; Mr. Kalyan Bikram Adhikary, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank; Mr. Jaime C. Laya, Governor of the Cental Bank of the Philippines; Mr. Lim Ho Kee, Deputy Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore; Mr. Warnasena Rasaputram, Governor of the Central Bank of Ceylon; and Mr. Nukul Prachuabmoh, Governor of the Bank of Thailand. On 27 January 1982, the South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) Research and Training Centre was registered as a company limited by guarantee without a share capital under the Companies Act 1965 of Malaysia.

Current Membership

Since its establishment, the members of The SEACEN Centre have grown. There are currently 16 member central banks and monetary authorities. In addition to the original eight members, it is joined by The Bank of Korea on 25 January 1990, Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on 25 January 1992, The Bank of Mongolia on 20 May 1999, the Ministry of Finance, Brunei Darussalam on 1 April 2003, the Reserve Bank of Fiji on 1 April 2004, the Bank of Papua New Guinea on 2 June 2005, the National Bank of Cambodia on 1 April 2006; and the State Bank of Vietnam on 1 September 2006.

Observers and Invitees

In addition to the full membership, The SEACEN Centre has 2 "observer" central banks and 17 "invitees". The "observer" central banks are granted the privilege of attending the annual SEACEN Governors' Conference, which is the forum to exchange information, experiences and views on financial, monetary, banking and economic developments in the respective countries as well as the region. The "invitees" refer to the central banks/monetary authorities that The SEACEN Centre regularly invites to participate in all SEACEN training activities.

For a full listing and links, please go to the "Observers and Invitees".