RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/FIN/M/16
9October 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4378)
Committee onTrade inFinancial Services
REPORT OFTHE MEETING HELD ON18SEPTEMBER 1997
Note bytheSecretariat
1. Thesixteenth meeting oftheCommittee onTrade inFinancial Services waschaired by
Mr.Yoshio Okubo ofJapan. Theagenda forthemeeting wascontained inWTO/AIR/650 of
31July1997, andconsisted offouritems: exchange ofviews onprogress inbilateral negotiations;
recent developments infinancial services trade; organization offuture work; andother business.
ItemA: Exchange ofviews onprogress inbilateral negotiations
ItemB: Recent developments inFinancial Services Trade
2. TheChairman reported onthestatus ofthesubmission ofoffers; intotal, nineteen offers had
beensubmitted. Sixofthem hadbeenpresented since theprevious meeting, byMacau, Republic of
Korea, NewZealand, Czech Republic, Ecuador andSingapore. TheSecretariat hadcirculated the
offers asdocuments S/FIN/W/12/Add.14 to19.Inaddition, Hong Kong, China hadsubmitted arevised
offer which wasdocument S/FIN/W/12/Add.4/Rev.1. TheChairman invited those delegations that
hadsubmitted offers since thelastmeeting tointroduce them.
3. Singapore indicated thattherevised offerreflected itscurrent regime, inlinewithlegislative
changes made inthepastfewyears. Thedetails oftherevised offerwould bediscussed withnegotiating
partners during bilateral meetings. TheCzech Republic explained thattheofferreflected changes that
hadbeenintroduced initsinternal legislation since July1995, inparticular thenewForeign Exchange
Act. Consequently, theoffer contained further improvements tothealready liberal régime forthe
financial services sector. Themain changes were made according tothefollowing principles: full
liberalization ofcurrent account operation forresidents andnon-residents; removal ofrestrictions on
payments related toexports andimports ofgoods andservices byresident natural persons; faster
liberalization ofcapital inflows andlong-term capital movements; andliberalization ofdirect investment
abroad andacquisition byresidents ofrealestate abroad. Intheinsurance sector, themonopoly rights
ofcompulsory airtransport insurance were abolished, forexample.
4. Macau indicated thatitsofferreflected thechanges thathadtaken place initseconomy due
toreforms undertaken since 1994. Theimprovements included intheofferrelated tothebinding of
commitments incross-border supply andconsumption abroad ofallinsurance andrelated services.
Thenon-binding ofmarket access inthepresence ofnatural persons fortheinsurance sector wasaimed
atprotecting theemployment market which wasstillveryfragile; nevertheless, therewereexceptions
fordirectors, specialists andtechnical staffwhowere notavailable inthelocal labour market. As
tobanking andother financial services, theofferincluded thebinding ofnational treatment incross-
border supply. Thenon-binding ofmarket access incross-border supply reflected current domestic
legislationbasedontherecommendationsoftheBasleCommitteeonBankingSupervisionwhichrequired
thatinternational banks wishing todevelop activities intheterritory should participate inthecapital
oflocal banks orrequest authorization toestablish subsidiaries, branches orrepresentative offices.
Thenon-binding ofmarket access inthepresence ofnatural persons inbanking andother financialS/FIN/M/16
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services wasalsotoprotect theemployment market, butagain, exceptions were provided. Macau
underlined thatwhatwasatstake inthecurrent negotiations wastheinternational financial services
sector, which wastooimportant forthenegotiations tobeallowed tofail.
5. Ecuador indicated thatinrecent months greatefforts hadbeencarried outtosolve theeconomic
difficulties ithadfaced untilthebeginning of1997. Those actions wereaimed atlowering inflation
andexternal debt, forinstance. Achieving sustained growth oftheeconomy andrestoring balance
inthefundamentalswouldallowEcuadortorestructurethefunctioningofbankingandinsuranceservices
which weresubject tosome limitations. Itsofferinpractice wasverybroad andattractive forforeign
investment, oncethefinancial system wasstrengthened. Theexisting legislation guaranteed theprinciple
ofnational treatment andequal opportunities.
6. KoreaindicatedthatitsinitialoffercontainedsubstantialimprovementsonitsJuly1995schedule.
Theofferrepresented Korea 'sbesteffort tocontribute tothesuccess ofthenegotiations andshowed
thatKorea wasverypositive inliberalizing financial services. Theoffercontained 34newcommitments
based onthefullMFN principle ,including almost allofKorea 'sOECD commitments, suchasabolition
oftheeconomics needs testfortheinsurance industry, andalsoreflected measures which were not
covered byitsOECD commitments. Hong Kong, China indicated thattherevision toitsoffercontained
some technical amendments, primarily regarding theheadnote thatdefined thelimits ofsolicitation
andmarketing inmodes 1and2.Themeaning oftheheadnote hadbeenclarified anditsscope
narrowed; thelanguage intheofferhadbeenimproved aswell. NewZealand explained thatitsoffer
extended commitments totwoadditional subsectors ofinsurance, namely, insurance intermediation
andservices auxiliary toinsurance. Italsoindicated awillingness toconsider using theUnderstanding
onCommitments inFinancial Services asthebasis forscheduling itscommitments inthesector.
7. TheChairman invited delegations thathadnotyetsubmitted offers togiveanyindications or
provide aprogress report. Healsoinvited comments onprogress inthebilateral negotiations, and
onrecent developments infinancial services trade orfinancial markets.
8. TheEuropean Communities welcomed theoffers which hadbeentabled recently. Itappreciated
theimprovements made intheoffers, aswellasthepositive signals andindications given inthebilateral
meetings thatanumber ofcountries wereintheprocess offinalizing theiroffers tobepresented soon.
Thenineteen offers tabled sofarrepresented animportant contribution totheprocess, although there
wasscope forimprovement. Most oftheEC'sbilateral meetings withdelegations, including those
which hadnotyetsubmitted offers, wereencouraging; mostofthelatter countries hadindicated that
serious consideration hadbeengiven tothepresentation ofoffers withbroader sectoral coverage and
commitments guaranteeing market access. TheECappreciated those efforts especially, because in
anumber ofcountries, difficulties, either internal political difficulties orexternal financial ones, might
havemade itmore difficult toattract highlevelattention tothenegotiations. Itstressed theimportance
oftheGATS andthecurrent negotiations astheywerepartofaninternational process carried outnot
onlytoaddpredictability inthefinancial services sector, butalsotoimprove theefficiency ofthe
financial markets. Itwasveryimportant forallcountries togiveguarantees toprovide protection and
fairtreatment toforeign investment inthesector, since suchinvestment would helprecapitalise and
strengthen thedomestic financial sector. Those countries thathadnotyetpresented anoffershould
dotheirbesttotableoneassoonasfeasible soastoallow meaningful negotiations tobeconducted;
those offers werecritical forthesuccess ofthenegotiations. TheECalsoreiterated itswillingness
toconsider modalities which would provide other Members flexibility tomake commitments taking
intoaccount thesituation oftheirmarkets, thedegree ofdevelopment, andtheprinciple ofprogressive
liberalization. TheEuropean Communities didnotexpect afreetrade agreement astheresult ofthe
current negotiations, butanagreement providing thenecessary guarantees.S/FIN/M/16
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9. Slovenia reiterated itsfullsupport forthenegotiations anditsintention tocontribute tothe
process within itspossibilities. Competition infinancial services wasacrucial matter foritseconomic
development. Itintended toimplement liberalization ofthesector gradually, inaperiod oftwoto
fouryears, depending ontheparticular subsector. Thiswould depend onlegislation which waspending
intheareaofforeign exchange, banking, insurance, andsecurities markets. Slovenia would table
itsinitial offershortly. Recent developments indirectly affecting thefinancial sector, suchasachange
intheConstitution which affected foreign ownership ofrealestate, andtheenactment oflegislation
providing foraconclusion oftheprivatization process, provided thebasisforthedeletion oflimitations
onforeign presence. Thenewbanking lawcurrently being discussed contained measures thatwould
allow liberalization andtheintroduction ofnon-discriminatory principles andinternational standards.
Byallowing branches offoreign banks andthereby fullyliberalizing theestablishment offoreign banks,
foreign persons would havefullaccess tothesecurities market, since bylawbanks wereallowed to
participate inthatmarket andintrade ofother financial instruments. Limitations intheareaofcredit
relations would bealsolifted. Regarding theinsurance market, liberalization wasalsoenvisaged, but
aftertheprivatization ofinsurance companies wascompleted.
10. Iceland confirmed thatitsofferwasinthefinalstage ofpreparation anditwould besubmitted
totheSecretariat fordistribution inthefollowing days. Itwascommitted tothesuccessful conclusion
ofthenegotiations andlooked forward toworking withitsnegotiating partners towards thatend.Poland
informed thatitsrevised offerhadalready beenprepared; however, duetotechnical andprocedural
reasons, theofferwould besubmitted afewdayslaterthanoriginally announced. Theimproved offer
would reflect fullliberalization withregard tomodes ofsupply 1and2inreinsurance, retrocession,
andinsurance ofgoods ininternational trade. From 1January 1999, market access would bepossible
forlicensed branches intheinsurance andbanking sectors; thesame market access would beprovided
tosecurities companies ayearearlier. Therequirement ofapermit fortheacquisition ofshares of
acompany which heldatleast15percentoftheshares ofaninsurance company would beeliminated.
Residency requirements forbrokers andsecurities advisors would alsobeeliminated asof1January
1998.
11. Pakistan confirmed thatitwould continue towork towards theimprovement ofmarket access
andliberalization oftradeinfinancial services inlinewiththeprovisions oftheGATS. Itfirmly believed
thatliberalization offinancial services could create opportunities foritsbanking andinsurance industry
toevolve onasound andhealthy footing. Recently, major amendments hadbeenintroduced tothe
banking lawsthataimed atinsulating thebanking system frombureaucratic andpolitical influences.
Similarly, anewrecovery lawhadbeenenacted which would facilitate thequick recovery ofnon-
performing loans. Theprivatization ofbanks wasproceeding rapidly. During thepastsixmonths,
foreign investors hadtaken overequity andmanagement control oftwoofthedomestic banks through
aprocess ofopen bidding. Intheprevious month, international accounting standards andother
internationally accepted prudential regulations fortheentire banking industry hadbeenenforced. In
theinsurance sector, theestablishment ofaninsurance regulatory authority andtheputting inplace
ofaregulatory framework would create alevel playing fieldfordomestic andforeign providers of
those services. Pakistan 'scommitments toprovide significant market access andalmost fullnational
treatment inthefinancial services sector would havevalue andmeaning onlywhen reciprocated by
asimilar response from partners; sofartheoffers hadnotmetitsexpectations. Itlooked forward
tofurther improvements inthoseoffers. Pakistan would study thoseoffers carefully, andwould consider
itsresponse accordingly.
12. Uruguay announced thatithadprepared animproved offerwhich wasgoing through aninternal
procedure ofapproval tobecompleted. Itwould include several insurance subsectors notcovered
before, aswellasabroadening ofexisting commitments inbanking. Thetiming ofthesubmission
anditsamplitude would depend onthecompletion oftheinternal process andalsoonthebilateral
negotiations. Ithoped tocirculate theoffer shortly.S/FIN/M/16
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13. Brazil stated thattheprocess ofreform andmodernization ofthefinancial services sector
continued toprogress atasteady pace. Inthepasttwomonths, many newforeign insurance companies
hadbeenadmitted toitsmarket including oneofthelargest American insurers. Also, foreign institutions
continued toenter theBrazilian banking market, either through thecreation ofnewbanks, orthrough
thepurchase ofexisting ones. Therestructuring andprivatization ofstate-owned banks alsoproceeded
steadily. Itrecalled thatmany ofthechanges introduced inthatreform process wereyettobesupported
bylegislation which would giveconcrete content totherelevant general provisions oftheConstitution.
Suchlegislation wasbeing discussed andthepaceanddirection ofthose discussions could hardly be
determined inadvance. Thisdomestic reality constituted thebasisofthedifficulties thathadprevented
theBrazilian government frompresenting aninitial offerbythismeeting. Nevertheless, itremained
fullycommitted tocontributing tothesuccess ofthenegotiations andwasopentoconsidering alternative
approaches toovercome problems, whenever compatible withitsdomestic processes.
14. Mexico stated thatitwasworking onthepresentation ofanimproved offer. Assoonasthe
internal consultations were concluded, theoffer would becirculated toMembers. Australia was
encouraged bythediscussions ithadduring theweek, andbelieved thatthenegotiations wereontrack.
Apositive atmosphere hadbeenestablished duetothree main developments: first, thesubmission
ofmany newoffers, some ofwhich included significant improvements; second, therehadbeenevidence
ofwork andcommitment incapitals toprepare newoffers, despite thefactthatsome ofthose countries
were facing difficult financial circumstances; andthird, countries hadshown preparedness tolisten
andengage inconstructive dialogue. Tofinalize thenegotiations ontime, itwould benecessary to
move toamore intensive negotiating stagesoon. Astorecent domestic developments, on2September
theAustralian Treasurer hadannounced acomprehensive setoffinancial system reforms, inresponse
totheWallis Inquiry. Thekeyelements ofthepackage wereaneworganizational framework forthe
regulation, including prudential regulation ofthefinancial system, andavariety ofmeasures toimprove
efficiency andcontestability infinancial markets andthepayments system. Insum, themeasures
announced would facilitate greater choice andcompetition infinancial services inAustralia, particularly
inbanking andinsurance, andaccess tothepayments system.
15. Canada hadbeeninvolved insome 15bilateral meetings during theweek andwasencouraged
bytheoverall toneofthediscussions andthequality ofthenewoffers. Iturged those countries working
onnewoffers toconsider binding theliberalization measures thathadbeenintroduced since 1995,
andalsoconsider including anynewliberalization measures thatwereimminent. Canada wascommitted
tointroducing anewbranch banking regime andhoped thatitwould beinaposition toreflect that
régime inanyfuture revision totheCanadian offer. Romania indicated thatitsinstitutions concerned
weremaking intensive efforts toprepare aninitial offertobepresented assoonaspossible. Itsfirm
intention wastoextend thescope ofitsspecific commitments inthesector, particularly tosecurities
andrelated services. Animproved offerregarding banking andinsurance services might besubmitted
aftertheadoption ofnewregulations onthematter, which wasunder way.
16. Norway noted withsatisfaction thatthenewoffers reflected thelifting ofimportant restrictions.
Undoubtedly, therewasstillsome waytogointerms ofquantity andquality. Nevertheless, itremained
confident thatthecurrent positive spirit inthenegotiations wascontagious, andthatpartners shared
itsbelief inthebenefits ofastrong andliberal multilateral trading system. There wasaneedtorecreate
thepositive atmosphere seeninthesuccessful negotiations onbasic telecommunications. Norway did
notexpect afullyfreetrade agreement butafairly liberal onewiththenecessary guarantees. Hong
Kong, China noted thatthetimeleftforthenegotiations wasshort andexpressed thehopethatoffers
would come atamore rapid pace. Itnoted thatthere wasagreat dealtogainfrom asuccessful
negotiation; overninety Members hadmade offers in1993and1995, andsome significantly improved
newoffers werealready in.Itappreciated thatthere might bedifficulties forsome countries, butthe
benefits thatwould result foralleconomies fromliberalizing akeysector oftheworld economy were
wellworth theeffort. Morocco indicated thatitwasconsidering thepossibility ofimproving itsofferS/FIN/M/16
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fromits1995 commitments, especially withregard toinsurance. Theimprovements would takeinto
account theongoing process; forexample, thenewcodeoninsurance which wasbeing adopted, and
theprivatization ofinsurance companies, which should happen inthenextfewmonths. There was
alsothepossibility ofincluding services related toinsurance. Ithoped tobeabletotableanofferwith
improvements inthecoming weeks, taking intoaccount therequests from itstrading partners.
17. Japan commented onrecent developments intheforeign exchange markets inAsia. There
wereavariety ofarguments about therelationship between those developments andtheliberalization
offinancial services. Therealissue which themonetary authorities ofeachcountry faced washow
tosecure thestability ofthemarket while further promoting liberalization. Inviewofthefactthat
today theworld economy wasmore andmore interdependent, itwasindispensable foreachcountry
toopenthefinancial market andtomake thebestuseofmarket forces. Bydoing so,countries could
alsosecure theneeded funds forfurther development. Itstressed thatsound macro-economic policies
provided thebasisforsecuring thestability oftheforeign exchange market. Onemustpayfullattention
nottohampertheeffectivenessofthemarketbyresortingtoexcessivemeasuresagainstmarketvolatility.
Inregard tothenegotiations, Japan wasverymuch encouraged bythenewoffers submitted bysome
countries andtheindications astothedirection oftheimprovements ofcommitments given byothers.
Commitments under theGATS would giveforeign investors thelegalstability andpredictability which
would prevent events suchasacurrency crisis from happening. Reaching amultilateral agreement
inthefinancial services sector would provide countries withgreat benefits bypromoting sound
development oftheworld economy. Japan urged Members which hadnotyetsubmitted offers tosubmit
highly improved offers assoon aspossible, reasonably inadvance oftheOctober meeting ofthe
Committee.
18. Egypt stressed thatitspolicy wastoreform itseconomy withaviewtobecoming anintegral
partoftheglobal environment. Within thatspirit, ithadgonealongwaytowards liberalization of
thefinancialsectorcorrespondingtothedifferentstagesofdevelopmentforeachsectorandinaccordance
withitsdevelopment needs. While thesecurities market hadbeentotally liberalized, thebanking and
insurance sectors werebeing liberalized gradually. Egypt intended tofurther remove andrelaxexisting
limitations; forexample, inbanking services, foreign equity cannowexceed 49percent, andin
insurance, thelimitwould beraised to51percent; thecriteria oftheeconomic needs testwould be
relaxed; andthenationality requirement formanaging directors would bereconsidered. Those would
bedone within theestablished timeframe. Egypt 'sfuture course ofaction would depend onthe
significance ofimprovements inthecommitments byother partners. Ithoped thatArticle IVofthe
GATS would beputintoaction andthatanagreement onthequestion ofsafeguards wasreached
according toArticle X.Hungary echoed other delegations inexpressing thehope ofsuccessfully
completing thenegotiations.
19. Switzerland haddiscussed withanumber ofcountries theimpact offinancial instability insome
regions. Itacknowledged thevalue oftheefforts thathadbeen made toprovide offers with
improvements. Itappreciated thedifficulties thatsome countries werefacing ingoodfaith. The1997
negotiations werepartofanongoing process andwould bepursued inthespirit ofGATS Article XIX
alsointhefuture. Accordingly, Switzerland would consider theoverall value oftheoffers andnot
justtheimprovements introduced during the1997round. Inorder togetto12December withreasonable
prospects ofsuccess, Members needed tohaveclearindications nowastowhattheschedules would
looklike. Forthatreason, countries should notdelay thesubmission oftheiroffers.
20. Thailand saidthatincreased capital inflows, resulting fromfinancial market liberalization and
inadequate regulation offinancial institutions, hadledtoaspeculative realestate bubble andlargenon-
performing loans initsfinancial sector. Itsgovernment wascurrently preoccupied withrestoring
economic stability. Tothateffect, ithadagreed inconsultations withtheIMFtoacomprehensive
package ofmeasures urgently needed toboost confidence inthecountry 'sfinancial system andensureS/FIN/M/16
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fullprotection ofdomestic andforeign depositors andcreditors. Nevertheless, Thailand hadstrong
intentions tocontinue moving towards liberalization ofitsfinancial sector inagradual manner.
21. TheUnited States welcomed thenewandimproved offers submitted since theJulymeeting,
andtheindications thatanumber ofdelegations were ontheverge oftabling offers. Thebilateral
meetings oftheweek hadbeeninformative andproductive inclarifying USrequests anditsoffer, and
indiscussing inaconstructive manner howtheU.S.could work withother countries toadvance the
negotiations. Itwould haveexpected tobeinamore intensive negotiating stage atthispoint inthe
negotiations byhaving moreoffers onthetable, andhoped togettothatstagesoon. TheU.S.expressed
itssensitivity tothefinancial situation incertain countries anditsunderstanding ofthedifficulties in
securing domestic approval foroffers. Nevertheless, ithoped thatdespite those challenges delegations
would beabletoimprove ontheir1995commitments. Itlooked forward toreceiving additional offers
assoonaspossible. Theissueofmarket events incertain regions, which wereaconcern shared globally
andtheeffects ofwhich maybeshared widely, caused theU.S. togivegreat caretothespecific
technicalities ofwhatwasbeing negotiated. Members werenegotiating acommercial agreement which
addressed market access, therightofcommercial establishment andownership, therightofoperations,
andnational treatment. Issues thatpolicy makers were addressing inother fora, suchasexchange
rates orlarge scale capital movements, were notsubject tothecurrent negotiations. AllMembers
were obliged torecognize therights andobligations ofmonetary authorities totakethenecessary
prudential steps toavoid disruptions intheirmarkets anddamage totheirfinancial systems. They
should alsorecognize therights andobligations ofMembers asprovided intheGATS which allowed
temporary measures tobetaken tosafeguard thebalance-of-payments inthefaceofextreme imbalances.
TheU.S.further indicated thatitsrequests werealready onthetableandthatitwould notaddtothe
issues thatithadintroduced inbilateral discussions witheachnegotiating partner. Itbelieved thata
successful conclusion tothenegotiations remained within reach.
22. TheEuropean Communities added thatitsympathized withtheexternal financial difficulties
experienced bysome countries. Those difficulties hadbeenlinked toforeign borrowing which had
increasedliquidityindomesticmarketscreatingafinancialbubble.Foreignborrowinghadbeenpossible
because international markets werehighly competitive anditmight havebeenseenasanalternative
todomestic borrowing, among other reasons. TheE.C.reiterated thatneither exchange controls nor
capital movements were being negotiated. Inanycase, theGATS provided forasafeguard clause
regarding balance-of-payments andother external financial difficulties. Some ofthecountries
experiencing those difficulties hadveryhighdomestic savings, andanefficient andwellcapitalized
financial system wasveryimportant tochannel those savings toproductive investment. Attracting
foreign capital andexpertise, byproviding thenecessary guarantees, might helpsolve thedifficulties,
especially when countries needed torestructure andrecapitalize theirfinancial systems. TheChairman
stressed thatinorder toachieve theirgoalintheagreed timeframe, substantial progress needed to
bemade inboththenumber andsubstance oftheoffers inthenextfewweeks. Heurged alldelegations
tomaximize theirefforts tothiseffect.
ItemC: Organization ofFuture Work
23. TheChairman recalled thattheCommittee hadagreed onanindicative timetable forthe
completion ofthenegotiations atitsApril meeting. Hesuggested tohavethenextmeeting ofthe
Committee onthedateindicated inthetimetable, i.e.onFriday 17October. TheCommittee soagreed.
24. TheEuropean Communities raised thequestion ofwhen toorganize ahighlevel meeting.
Ithadconcerns astothetiming ofsuchameeting because itwasimportant tobring thenegotiations
totheattention ofhighlevelofficials, sothattheissues wereproperly examined anddiscussed bythose
responsible forthefinancial services sector. Such ameeting should beheldattheearliest possibleS/FIN/M/16
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opportunity, possibly inOctober, since having itlaterinNovember might notleave enough timefor
highlevel officials toengage inthenecessary negotiations. TheChairman stated that,asindicated
intheagreed timetable, ameeting atsenior levelwould bescheduled induecourse. Suggestions and
views hadbeencommunicated tohimastowhether theCommittee should decide onhaving sucha
meeting inOctober orNovember. Having listened tovarious views ininformal consultations, the
Chairman 'sviewwasthatparticipation ofhighlevelofficials from capitals wasalways veryhelpful
tomake progress inthediscussions. Given thetimeframe ofthenegotiations, theirparticipation would
beessential forthesuccess ofthetalks. Hewasverypleased withtheample participation ofofficials
fromcapitals during theweek; itwasanindication ofastrong commitment ofMembers toasuccessful
conclusion ofthenegotiations, andsuchcommitment should bestrengthened inthecoming weeks.
Therefore, hebelieved thatMembers should nottaketoomechanical aviewastothelevelofthemeeting,
andshould recognize thatthere would bemany opportunities forthehigher levelofficials topursue
bilateral discussions incoming weeks outside Geneva. Based onthose observations, hesuggested that
theCommittee revert tothisquestion andtakethenecessary decision atitsnextmeeting. Heinvited
delegations tocommunicate tohimanysuggestions onthisquestion inthemeantime. TheChairman
alsoindicated thataninformal meeting wasscheduled onThursday 16October todraftthetextofa
protocol tobeadopted attheendofthenegotiations inDecember. Inthiscontext, hereferred toa
notebytheSecretariat (S/FIN/W/11) of1May1997, entitled "Issues concerning theadoption ofa
protocol toconclude thefinancial services negotiations".
ItemD: Other Business
25. Noissues were raised under other business.