A message to transnational capital

From the participants of the Bangkok symposium on the consequences of economic globalization

November 12 to 15 1999

Transnational capital is the culprit behind the economic crisis now engulfing south-east Asia and other parts of the world.

Transnational capital, seeking rapid profits, arrived in and left the region with equal suddenness, leaving host countries to deal with unmanageable consequences. Governments were left with no choice but to bite the bitter pill imposed by the IMF and the World Bank, a medicine that has proved ineffective in solving the problems in Russia, Brazil and Mexico. These failed policies should be stopped.

We therefore propose that the following measures should be undertaken and the institutions and authorities concerned should implement concrete actions.

1. Government has a duty to protect the space in which local cultures and economies can flower. It therefore should be allowed to protect people-controlled financial and savings institutions from interference by transnational capital.
2. Workers should ensure that the capital invested by their pension and provident funds should not be used to harm other workers.
3. Government and local companies should monitor and regulate the entry and exit of transnational capital.
4. There should be limits to the share of local companies that transnational capital should be allowed to acquire.
5. Transnational capital and government authorities should be accountable for the damage they do to the countries (unemployment, ecology, etc).
6. Transnational capital should not aim solely for profit through the financial markets, but should be involved in developing the local economy. In particular, transnational capital should not be allowed to withdraw suddenly.
7. The hegemony of the US dollar and everything it stands for should be challenged.
8. Healthy companies should not be sold to foreign companies in order to be closed.

The symposium was jointly organized by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the World Council of Churches, the Christian Conference of Asia, the Church of Christ in Thailand, and the Asian Cultural Forum on Development. It was attended by over 60 people from various sectors of society in Thailand and from 19 other countries, namely, Canada, China, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, the Netherlands, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Uganda, and Vanuatu.