"China was a looming shadow at India's first summit with 14 African countries held in New Delhi recently that not only revealed the depth and diversity of their relationship but also provided clues to what could give New Delhi a competitive edge in the resource-rich continent. India's promise to be a partner in Africa's resurgence was reflected in a raft of initiatives announced at the summit that included granting duty-free and quote-free market access to exports and doubling the financial package for development of the continent to $5.4 billion over the next five years.

Clearly, there is a huge gap between the level of India's engagement in Africa with that of China. India's trade with Africa is estimated to be around $30 billion which is half of that of China's $56 billion in the continent. China has also struck lucrative energy and infrastructure deals in oil-rich countries like Sudan, Angola, Mozambique, Nigeria and Chad. Compared to that, India has a lot of catching up to do in Africa's hydrocarbons sector."

"More than a year after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), Vietnam has gradually kept pace with other economies in the world. However, behind optimistic statistics are weaknesses that need to be rapidly overcome. First of all, Vietnam's legal system remains incomplete and need to be improved in line with its WTO commitments and international norms.

Second, poor infrastructure is causing huge losses to the national economy. A lack of a skilled labor force is stunting qualitative growth and sustainable development in the international integration process. Third, the economy began to face risks from WTO membership. The high inflation rate of 12.6 percent in 2007 and 9.19 percent in the first quarter of 2008 affected the living conditions of a majority of the population, particularly low-income earners."

"Literacy ratio in Pakistan still remains at 50 percent, mainly because of small budgetary allocations, lack of political will and delays in disbursement of funds, according to Unesco. In the region, Pakistan has been ranked higher only than Nepal and Bangladesh, which have literacy rates of 49 and 43 percent, respectively. Other countries have far better ratios: the Maldives, 96 percent; Sri Lanka, 91 percent; and India, 61 percent.

Sindh has the highest percentage in education which stands at 54 percent followed by Punjab (52 percent) and the NWFP (40 percent). Balochistan has the lowest ratio -- 33 percent. Unesco attributed the low level of literacy rate to factors like weak organizational infrastructure, low professional capacity, lack of research, non-availability of proper training institutes, low public awareness and lack of evaluation and monitoring system."

"Indonesia hopes to cut the total losses of state companies this year by as much as 92 percent, thanks to strong progress in certain companies. Up to 28 state companies are still suffering losses, amounting to $323 million. In 2008, the government plans to reduce the number of unprofitable state companies to 11.

The losses have been attributable either to mismanagement or inefficiency or to the firms' commitment to the so-called public service obligation functions. State electricity company PLN has always been one of the main contributors to the total deficit suffered by state firms, with losses for 2007 estimated at Rp 1.5 trillion."

"More investment will find its way into China's rural financial market as China's banking regulators plan to promulgate new rules on the mergers and acquisitions of small and medium-sized rural financial institutions. Under the current regulation, any single corporation and its related companies should possess no more than ten percent of the total stakes of a rural banking institution. The government is now set to broaden investors' access to rural financial markets.

Apart from shareholder reform, the government is also resorting to 'new-type' rural financial institutions to ease the chronic capital shortage in rural China that has aggravated the imbalance between the rural economy and the rest of the economy. New institutions in the form of rural and country banks, finance companies and rural mutual cooperatives are being established across the country, with another 100 to be set up this year."

"Nepal has shown exemplary reduction in mortality rates for infants and children under five -- which have come down from 79 to 48 deaths per 1,000 live births, and from 118 to 61 deaths per 1,000 births, respectively, in the past decade. Successful public health interventions include the supplementation of Vitamin A, distribution of de-worming tablets, management of diarrhea and pneumonia, and polio and measles immunization campaigns.

And yet this success has not been replicated in neonatal mortality. Over 50 percent of the babies who are still dying in Nepal are less than one month old."

"Young adults, 21 to 29 years old, will play a large role in shaping Vietnam's small but growing retail-banking market, according to a recent survey. These young consumers are less wary of borrowing, likelier to use remote channels, and more open to foreign banks than are their elders. And on most banking-related issues, the generation gap in preferences and attitudes is larger in Vietnam than in other Asian markets.

Despite strong growth in recent years, retail banking in Vietnam remains small. Banking assets, for example, amounted to about $75 billion (some 123% of GDP) at the end of 2006, compared with $226 billion (110%) in Thailand and $302 billion (195%) in Malaysia. What's more, less than 10% of Vietnamese have a banking relationship. But like the rest of the country's economy, the banking sector is likely to continue its rapid expansion."

"Indonesia will most likely go ahead with plans for a $2 billion Sumatra and Java power project, which will involve the development of cables under the sea. According to a study, the construction of the cables would be more economically feasible than other means to deliver the electricity from coal-rich South Sumatra to Java.

As for the construction of the power plants, a number of firms, both local and foreign, have expressed interest in constructing coal-fired power plants in Sumatra, where coal deposits are abundant. The state electricity company estimates the planned power plants will produce enough electricity for Java and Bali, where blackouts are frequent. Among the power plants to be built are the 2,400-megawatt plant in Bangko, South Sumatra, and the 1,600-megawatt plant in Muara Enim, South Sumatra."

"Although many foreign banks have made lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) a centerpiece of their business strategy in China, many companies still struggle to secure bank financing. And this year, small businesses are facing even greater challenges as the government's tightened monetary policy put a stringent control on the loaning volume at banks, which frequently favor larger enterprises over their smaller counterparts.

Small company owners say banks are reluctant to make loans because they are often unable to provide valuable fixed asset guarantees, yet lenders stress small companies' information disclosure is insufficient. The crunch has been particularly hard on smaller export players in the Yangtze River and Pearl River deltas."

"India's battle against spiraling inflation is not over yet, but more monetary tightening could put the brakes on growth in Asia's third-largest economy, analysts have warned. Late last week, the central bank told commercial banks to hike cash reserves to suck out excess money supply in an effort to cool inflation that has more than doubled in four months to touch a three-year high of 7.14 percent.

With some economists saying surging global food and other commodity prices could push India's inflation to double-digits, taming prices has become the number one goal of the government, which faces general elections within a year and a clutch of state polls in between. Economists forecast that India's central bank would take more anti-inflationary steps at its annual policy meeting on April 29, and warned the moves could further dent growth, already slowing under the impact of previous tightening."

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