"A re-zoning plan for Ho Chi Minh City will link dozens of surrounding areas in all four directions into a super urban zone. The master plan calls for more than just extending the city limits on paper, but for massive restructuring and infrastructure development to ease the chaos of the city. Part of the plan includes provisions for four main corridors with major roads and highways to better link the various parts of the city.

The plan calls for specialized centers, such as tertiary education and science research centers. With all the construction projects, some thought has also been put into conservation, as plans call for the preservation of landscapes and historical and architectural heritage. In the additional inlaying areas of the city, the plan gives priority to the development of new large-scale urban and residential areas."

"The substantial rise in the cost of living in Thailand, evident in the rising prices of food, transport and other necessities, has made it almost impossible for a worker who earns a minimum wage of 195 baht a day, to make ends meet. Workers' demand for a standard nine-baht per day increase to be enforced across the country is very fair and decent. The traditional practice of applying different minimum wages in different zones is obsolete and does not reflect the realities.

Workers in Chiang Rai or Mae Hong Son who receive less than their colleagues in Bangkok, often have to pay more for the same consumer products they buy in their hometowns as they have to bear the higher transportation costs, although they pay less on housing. Thus it is unfair that they are paid less than workers in Bangkok. Also, the different rates cause a drainage of workers from one province to another which offers higher rates, resulting in a shortage of workforce in the former."

"The rice and fuel crunch scenario is dominating the news for now. But over the long pull, below-the-surface shifts in demography, economics and policy will drive more Filipino and other Asian workers to crisscross the region for new jobs. Asia has now fielded 54.2 million migrants. Half of these were workers, and the Philippines apparently sent the largest number.

Since the mid-1980s, however, growing numbers of migrants have turned inwards. There is now burgeoning international migration within Asia itself. Developing Asia has the potential to reap big gains from easier migration, but regional cooperation is critical because an ever larger number of Asian workers will be on the move in the years ahead."

"If India's economy is to continue to grow at a rate of 8% plus per year there must be massive investment in infrastructure and other vital retail ventures. There have been grand schemes proposed to introduce railways to connect metropolitan cities, build power plants, and construct modern highways. These goals, though long-term, are essential to creating a more attractive impetus for investment and improve the overall efficiency of the country.

Investment should not be confined to the corporate and the structural in India but must also be allocated for education, healthcare and sanitation. The acceleration of economic growth is of utmost importance in the overall progress of India as an emerging global entity."

"Afghanistan may have to face several more months of high grain prices, a United Nations official warned, as a global food crisis added insult to injury in a country already battered by war and stricken by poverty.

However there is some good news: the price of wheat that recently soared as a result of high fuel prices, drought and demand from India and PRC, has fallen off its highs by about 30 percent in Afghanistan. This was brought about by government intervention and international aid. However, it remains nearly three times as high as it was four or five months ago."

"The growth of exports from PRC's labor-intensive industries is slowing, and the trend is set to continue, the Ministry of Commerce has revealed. In the first quarter of the year, the value of clothing exports rose 14.7 percent, less than the 17.6 percent growth reported for the same period of last year. Similarly, the value of shoe exports rose 11.2 percent (compared with 16.7 percent last year) and toy exports grew 3.3 percent (down from 29.9 percent).

In the coming years, there will be a trend of export growth in the textile sector declining, as the yuan appreciates and raw material and labor costs increase. Exports of high energy consuming and high polluting products have all been in decline. Exports of machinery and electrical products, however, saw a year-on-year rise of 23.1 percent in the first quarter."

"Infant mortality rates in India are among the world's worst -- 57 deaths per 1,000 live births. To try and solve this problem, Asia�fs first human milk bank was set up in Mumbai in 1989. Since then, some 25 human milk banks across India have been performing vital services for premature babies requiring temporary intervention in cases of delayed lactation, abandonment or illness.

However, despite the vital service milk banks are providing in India, their number hasn't seen a steep rise. Nor is the government doing much to promote the setting up of new milk banks in the future. It's a Catch-22 situation: because the number of human milk banks in India isn't too large, they have not yet been accorded 'industry' status. This naturally excludes them from benefits awarded to the organized sector."

"Increasing food prices and shortages in Sri Lanka are putting people at risk of malnutrition and leave many families no longer able to afford essentials such as medical care and school tuition. Poor communities are surviving from one day to another -- the rise in food prices means the poor families are living in a 'survival mode', planning for their next meal, rather than making and acting on long-term plans for them and their children.

The food price increases have been exacerbated by a 12.5 percent shortfall in domestic rice supply, the staple food of the islanders, according to government statistics. The government Census and Statistics Department recorded that average annual inflation rose by 16.8 percent in March 2008. A monthly 1.5 percent rise in the consumer price index was due to escalating food prices."

"The Indonesian government is looking at the possibility of raising fuel prices in June by an average of 28.7 percent in response to skyrocketing fuel subsidies, which many fear may undermine the state budget. The price of premium gasoline could be raised to Rp 6,000 (65 U.S. cents) per liter from Rp 4,500. If fuel prices were raised, it would allow the government to save Rp 25 trillion in subsidies, according to the plan.

The proposal also includes a new mechanism for a direct cash distribution scheme to help cushion low-income Indonesians from the impact of rising fuel prices, which would likely trigger a rise in the prices of other products. Analysts fear that if fiscal sustainability is not ensured, it could endanger the country�fs sovereign risk, which would eventually make overseas lending expensive and foreign-direct investment riskier."

"The sharp rise in rice prices should be helping heavily indebted Thai farmers climb out of poverty. But farmers' net gains are limited as their costs have also risen significantly. The cost of growing rice is about 5,720 baht per rai compared to 4,000 baht before prices started to jump. Of the total expense, fertilizer tops the table of inputs at 1,200 baht per rai. Fertilizer prices have doubled to 20,000 baht a ton in the past year.

Seed prices have also doubled as farmers must buy from traders and the quality is not guaranteed. Land rental fees are soaring as well. Farmers who used to pay 700 baht per rai per year are now paying 500 baht for one crop that lasts three months. About 70 percent of Thai farmers don't own their land but rent from others. Many had to sell land to get out of debt."

"Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slums, is known for its remarkable entrepreneurial spirit and flourishing economy. Its annual turnover is estimated at anywhere between $700 million and $1 billion. For all its drawbacks, in a city where rents are among the highest in the world, Dharavi offers a roof over heads for a rent as low as $4 per month. The Dharavi Redevelopment Project was first conceived in 1995. It took the government eight years to give the go-ahead and in June last year it invited bids to execute the $2.3 billion project.

Dharavi's residents say they are not against the redevelopment project but oppose the way it is happening and for whom it is being redeveloped. The current plan, they say, is too generous to builders and does not provide enough for the residents. The size of houses being provided to residents is far too small. Relocation of people and their businesses will also strike at the economic security of thousands of families."

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