FINANCIAL MARKETS INFORMATION FORUM LUNCHEON

“STRESS TESTING THE NEW JAPAN”

This meeting was conducted in English.

 Guest Speaker: Mr. Jesper Koll, Chief Economist and Managing Director, Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co. Ltd.

Well-known economist and commentator Jesper Koll addressed the IBA membership for the first time at this Financial Markets Information Forum Luncheon. In the presentation, he focused on the following topics:

1) Japanese economic and policy outlook

2) Fiscal debt trap

3) Japan-China integration

4) Rising rates - who gets hurt?

5) The next growth sectors and how to profit from them

Jesper Koll has been researching the Japanese economy since becoming a resident of Japan in 1986. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in August 1999, he was a Managing Director of Tiger Management L.L.C. and before that he was the Chief Economist and Head of Economic and Market Research for J.P. Morgan in Tokyo. Mr. Koll has served on several Japanese government advisory councils, including the MITI committee on "Big Bang 2001 - Japan's financial system reform". He was a member of the Economic Planning Agency council for anti-deflation policy measures. Since 2002, he has been a member of the Koizumi administrations' project team of private sector analysts. He also serves on the Ministry of Finance Advisory Council on Global Capital Flows.