The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) held its opening ceremony in Singapore on Friday to commemorate its establishment as an international organization.

AMRO was formally accorded the legal status of an international organization on Feb. 9, 2016.

AMRO is the first international organization established by the ASEAN+3 member states and is headquartered in Singapore. It has nearly 40 staff from ASEAN+3 countries.

AMRO is the independent macroeconomic surveillance unit of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) Agreement, a 240-billion-U.S. dollar currency swap arrangement set up in 2010 among ASEAN Member States, China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN+3 member states), as a safety net in times of liquidity need.

"As AMRO grows and develops its surveillance capabilities, it will establish an effective early warning mechanism for emerging risks in the region," Heng Swee Keat, Singapore Finance minister said at the opening ceremony.

"Our vision is for AMRO to develop into an authoritative interpreter of economic and financial developments in the Asian region." he added.