Spotlight: G20 ministers, central bankers expected to address global growth concerns

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 are expected to coordinate policy to support the fragile recovery of the global economy when they meet in Shanghai on Friday.

The market is awaiting messages from the two-day G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting after a rocky start in the global financial markets since the beginning of the year.

"The major economies of the world share an interest in boosting cooperation amid weak global economic recovery and volatile financial markets," said Gao Haihong, senior fellow at the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report on Tuesday highlighting increasing risks to a global recovery and calling for urgent and bold action to support growth.

The IMF in January predicted a growth of 3.4 percent for the world economy this year but now said it could downgrade the figure when it publishes its next forecast in April.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will be in spotlight as analysts believe uncertainties over U.S. monetary policy have been a key source of the current global financial market turmoil. Experts say the Fed faces pressure to slow down the pace of its intended rate hikes.

South Korea will be watching closely for clues on the Fed's intended interest rate hikes this year, said Han Jae-jin, a senior research fellow at the Hyundai Research Institute.

Ramiro Alves da Silva, an official from Brazil's Finance Ministry, says the world economy faces downside risks.

Brazil's Finance Minister Nelson Barbosa is expected to present his country's fiscal and social security reforms in Shanghai at a time when his country is in the midst of a severe recession.

"This year, the G20 group is focused on adopting structural reforms to help economic growth in member countries," the Finance Ministry said.

Da Silva said the Brazilian government hopes the meeting provides an opportunity to discuss ways to help emerging economies.

China's Finance Minister Lou Jiwei and central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan will be closely watched, too, as the country chairs the meeting to discuss structural reforms and strengthen economic cooperation and policy coordination. China is also stepping up communication with the market to allay concerns over its economic outlook. The Chinese government says fears over China's economy are unwarranted.

The Chinese economy has experienced a relative slowdown as it presses ahead with its economic transformation, but its growth of 6.9 percent last year is still among the highest in the world.

Russian experts say their country is interested in learning about the policy directions of other major economies such as the United States, the European Union, Japan and China.

For Russia, one of the key topics for discussion at the Shanghai meeting is how to deal with impacts from external factors, especially the dramatic changes in commodity prices, they said.

But experts also agree that it is not easy for the diverse grouping of G20 ministers and central bankers to coordinate their policies.

"I think the policy makers should concentrate on measures to support growth," Gao said. "They should also reassure investors that the financial market volatilities have been so dramatic that they are not exactly reflective of the condition of the real economy," Gao said. Endi