"Since 2002, Papua New Guinea has been experiencing an economic revival. While this has been driven by surging commodity prices it has also been underwritten by considerable improvements in macroeconomic and fiscal management. GDP growth rates have been high and the budget has been in surplus for 5 consecutive years -- a record for PNG. The question on everyone's lips however is; is this trend sustainable?

A major threat to the ability of economic success to improve living standards in PNG is rising inflation. Unofficial forecasts put inflation at close to 8 percent this year, but this is most likely an understatement. Another major challenge for PNG is that in spite of the commodity boom and an increasingly development focused fiscal policy the supply side of the economy has shown minimal response. A couple of resource projects are coming on-line but these were in development prior to the commodity boom."

"Amid the news in India of economic slowdown and monetary tightening, the robust order book position of engineering and construction companies provides hope that the momentum of infrastructure creation will continue apace. But if the current monetary stance dampens growth more than intended, it could have consequences for fresh investment in infrastructure creation.

Roads and ports are always crying for more investments. Given that demand far exceeds supply in these sectors one can hope for continued investments even if funds have become costlier. The government must also ensure there is no deceleration in its own spending for expanding road network, augmenting power generation and transmission capacity as well as strengthening the railways."

"In the north of Hebei Province, the city of Tangshan has a long, at times heartbreaking history, but today it is a modern metro area emphasizing sustainable development. In the 30 years following the quake, the people of Tangshan built a modern city from the ruins through 10 years of reconstruction, 10 years revitalization and another 10 years of new development.

The city created many firsts in China, including the first mechanized mining of coal, the first railroad of standard track gauge, the first locomotive, the first bucket of machine-made cement, and the first sanitary porcelain. Tangshan is coordinating the city and country areas to achieve equal development, including lowering barriers to migrant workers and providing them with healthy and educational benefits."

"In 2006, a Phnom Penh neighborhood known as Sambok Chap (Bird's Nest) was uprooted by force and moved to Andong. Two years later, about 1,500 Sambok Chap families are still living in Andong without clean water, schools, hospitals or electricity. Many are unemployed, and there are still no paved roads or permanent buildings.

Lack of sanitation makes disease a looming threat. The whole village is full of streams of stagnant water, and the mosquitoes thrive in it. There are few toilets, so most people defecate all over the land. There are piles of garbage surrounding their houses. But the most serious issue facing the people in Andong is the lack of access to medical care. The village clinic opens twice a week, but is two kilometers from the resettlement village."

"Credit rating firm Standard & Poor's (S&P) projected that Asian countries, including the Philippines, are likely to sustain economic growth in 2008 and 2009. For the Philippines, growth is forecast to slow to 4.8 percent in 2008 from 7.3 percent in 2007. The country could slightly recover to 5 percent in 2010, the credit rating firm said.

The credit perspective for Asian countries appears less favorable due to inflationary concerns brought about by costlier basic commodities and oil products. Inflation in Asia is forecast to increase to 6.7 percent in 2008 and drop to 4.6 percent in 2009."

"Vietnam was a bright star in Asia until early this year. However, there are rising concerns that high inflation and the widening trade deficit may result in a financial crisis and a hefty devaluation of the currency as experienced by Thailand in 1997. The closely managed VND has already dropped 5% this year, its greatest decline since 1998. Adding to the current woes is the stock market which had in June 2008 fallen 67% from the peak in March 2007 and seen volume down by 95% from a year ago.

Nevertheless, counterbalance measures -- such as foreign direct investment inflows, official development assistance, and private remittances from overseas Vietnamese -- can help mitigate the problem. The government has also suspended various public projects to lower public expenditure. These have helped to a certain extent as the monthly trade deficits have started to decrease."

"Azerbaijan may have the mega-energy revenues needed to build roads, but when it comes to regional healthcare, the country's attention appears to be focused elsewhere. The government is aware of the scope of the problem, and described it as a 'regional gap syndrome.' The government estimates that Azerbaijan has a shortage of more than 2,000 doctors outside of Baku.

There is a limited supply of power in the regions, and no gas and heating systems installed. Even the central regional hospitals do not receive electricity and it's impossible to sleep in cold hospital rooms in the winter. Meanwhile, the health ministry has come up with a program with Baku's Medical University to prompt young doctors to head to the regions. Under the initiative, some 70 to 80 percent of the school's graduates will be sent in 2008 to work outside of Baku."

"The economy of Pakistan has been facing many serious challenges such as trade deficits, galloping inflation, increase in the level of poverty, power outages, water shortages, closure of industries and food insecurity. The approach of the new government in dealing with these problems appears to be in the right direction but the soaring fuel prices, and food costs, have driven inflation to a six-year high.

The challenges faced by Pakistan are by no means easy. The business of reforming the electricity supply network is just not about short term measures. Even if Pakistan successfully set aside the vast funds which are necessary to finance such a turn-around, the time taken to ensure the supply of all the technical ingredients must in itself make the task formidably challenging."

"China's insurance regulator said this week it has received applications from the country's four major banks to invest in insurance companies and is now working on the related rules with the banking regulator. The regulator is also working on the management rules for insurers' investment in infrastructure projects.

Authorities might allow some insurers to invest up to 8 percent of their assets in infrastructure projects so they can diversify out of shares and bonds. Given the industry's more than 3 trillion yuan total assets, there might be 240 billion yuan flowing into the infrastructure sector."

"Farmers in the Mekong Delta are reaping a bumper rice crop with an average yield of more than 5 tons per ha, higher than the last summer-autumn harvest. Despite difficulties caused by unfavorable weather and pestilent insects, the Mekong Delta has successfully fulfilled its set targets in rice yield and output.

The achievements are partly due to regional provinces efforts to increase paddy cultivation acreage. Paddy prices in the region have seen a remarkable rise, and with the world's demand for rice growing, domestic farmers will have a chance to sell rice at higher prices."

"Despite a burgeoning workforce and competitive products, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines are generally seen as the least competitive among 12 nations in the region, according to a recent survey. According to the UPS Asia Business Monitor 2008, 58 percent of 1,201 SME leaders in 12 regional markets considered Philippine SMEs as less competitive compared to SMEs from other countries.

In the Philippines, 57 percent of SMEs cited bureaucracy and red tape in processing applications as the primary hindrance to getting business financing. One advantage currently enjoyed the Philippines is its strong labor force. The survey showed that the Philippines remained the most confident when it came to the availability of qualified workers with 52 percent of SMEs planning to increase its workforce by at least 10 percent."

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