Thirteen East and Southeast Asian nations have agreed to set up an emergency $120 billion liquidity fund to counter the economic downturn, they said in a joint statement on Sunday.

The finance ministers of China, Japan, South Korea and the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations took the decision on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting being held on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

The fund will be operational by year-end, the statement said. The 13 countries will also set up a $500 million guarantee for bonds issued in the region.

China and Japan will each contribute 32 percent of the regional fund, while South Korea will provide 16 percent. The rest will come from ASEAN nations -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Singapore.

(Reporting by Choon Sik Yoo; editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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