Perhaps in two or three decades, said Mr. Hiroshi Watanabe, Special Advisor to the President, Japan Centre for International Finance.

Mr. Watanabe was one of the panelists at the seminar on Economic Integration and Financial Market Stability: Asia and Europe Compared. He was accompanied by Rodrigo de Rato, Klaus Regling, and Benhua Wei, Advisor to the Governor of the People's Bank of China.

Although currency unification is not currently a priority in the context of Asian economic integration, the very fact that it is being talked about at ADB's 41st Annual Meeting indicates that it is in the horizon.

Toward the end of the seminar a gentleman from India raised a polemic question. Is Europe trying to promote Asian integration to delay or stop India and China from becoming superpowers?

Mr. Wei's was quick to reply with delicious accent and modesty that he does not see China becoming a superpower in the next 20 years, one of the reasons being the low per capita income of his homeland. He added that India might, as the Indian population is now growing faster than the Chinese.

Besides increasing market efficiency, economic integration in Asia would also ease political tensions between some major economies in the region.