"No issue has plagued India's infrastructure sector in the last 6-8 months as much as funding. The economic downturn has also put a question mark on the effectiveness and feasibility of public-private partnership in infrastructure in the long run. Between 2002 and 2006, about 35% of government expenditure was on infrastructure. And given the constraints like food and other subsidies, it will be difficult for the government to allocate more. So, the role of public-private partnership (PPP) has become more significant. The PPP model can work in a lot of sectors but there are still a lot of areas like rural roads that need to be developed by the government.

One area which is clearly missing in all projects is bond financing. India needs to put in the right policy framework to make the bond market deeper. There has been more focus on the equity financing side than on debt. Another sector that is a key participant in infrastructure funding but has been missing is insurance and pension funds. On the equity and hybrid instruments front, there is a retail interest in the country to take risk so India should develop products that can involve retail participation in infrastructure."

"China is undergoing the most rapid urbanization the world has ever seen and has 221 cities with a population of more than 1 million. The gap in living standards between those living in the cities and the rural population is large and growing. Because China is experiencing the problems of both a developing and developed country -- high growth and an aging population -- the government is also worried about the cost of a western European-style welfare state.

Every bit of that innovation will be needed as China grapples with its next set of challenges. These are the gap between rural and urban living standards and between the wealth of the coastal strip and inland poverty; the mismatch between the projected growth rate and energy needs; the rudimentary social safety net which encourages the population to save rather than spend; and the way that lack of domestic consumption exacerbates tensions in the global economy between those countries that export too much and those that export too little."

"Japanese Prime Minister Aso announced Saturday an offer of a total of 50 billion yen in aid to Pacific island nations for the next three years to help them counter climate change and other challenges. Concluding a two-day summit in Hokkaido, Japan and the 16 Pacific Islands Forum members adopted a joint declaration affirming stronger ties and cooperation in dealing with climate change by forming a 'Pacific Environment Community.'

The 50 billion yen in aid, an increase from the 45 billion yen Japan offered at the previous Pacific islands summit in 2006, includes 6.8 billion yen aid to facilitate solar power generation and seawater desalination. Japan also said it would assist in developing a total of 3,500 human resources in the areas of the environment, health, and education, while promoting person-to-person exchanges of more than 1,000 young people in the next three years."

"Indonesia is seeking a bilateral currency swap arrangement with Japan, similar to the one with China, to help it further ease the volatility of the rupiah against the US dollar, according to the central bank. The proposed arrangement may reach 1 trillion yen (about US$10.63 billion), Bank Indonesia said.

Indonesia has a similar arrangement with China worth Rp 175 trillion or 100 billion yuan (about $15 billion), signed in March. Such arrangements mean that traders can do export-import transactions between the two respective countries without using the US dollar and use their respective currencies instead, easing the volatility of the rupiah against the American greenback."

"Seven countries that are signatories to the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) have agreed to liberalize service sectors and open them for regional trade under positive list approach. While agreeing to follow broader principles of World Trade Organization's general agreement on trade in services, they have also consented to tailor the regional accord on service trade as per the reality of the region.

Real negotiations on which sectors to be opened and by when, and what sort of facilities should the least developed members get will start once the framework accord is endorsed by the higher body of SAARC. The framework will provide exemption and facilities to the least developed countries. Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are signatories to SAFTA, which presently deals with only merchandise trade."

"Viet Nam has endorsed Japan's proposal for industrial corridors to enhance the industrial development of East Asia. The networks would link Viet Nam's important economic zones to other countries on the Indochina peninsular and Southeast Asia. The transport minister said three major transport corridors would be built.

The northern corridor from Ha Noi would link key northern economic zones to southern China and Laos. The southern corridor from HCM City would link the Mekong River Delta, the national rice basket, with Cambodia and Thailand. The east-west corridor would link economic zones to Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and other countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia. The corridors would create even country-to-country economic development and create a framework for cooperation."

"Indonesia reported another positive macroeconomic indicator on Friday with higher than expected 4.4 percent year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the Indonesian economy in the first quarter of this year. The economic growth is slower than the 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year but still resilient compared to other countries within the region.

In other countries like China, the government's stimulus spending and the massive expansion of bank lending have helped to boost new investment and are likely to have a bigger impact on industrial demand in months to come. For Indonesia, with the elections nearly over, we cannot rely on politically-related stimulus to boost our economy in the second half of this year and beyond. Real government stimulus would be required to bring about higher confidence for both banks' and business players."

"Uzbekistan, like other Central Asian states, has relied in recent years on remittances sent home by migrant laborers to help prop up the local economy. But over the past year, the most lucrative markets for migrant labor, Russia and Kazakhstan, have been hammered by the global economic crisis, and, as a result, seasonal work in construction and other sectors has evaporated.

In Uzbekistan's case, not only has the level of remittances taken a drastic dip, but the return of migrant laborers to their homeland has placed additional strain on the country's social infrastructure. Internal migration, in which the rural poor have sought out work in cities, also has emerged as a potential source of destabilization. In response, the government has embarked on an ambitious job-creation program. Hundreds of job fairs are being held across the country to promote employment with a focus on hiring graduates, disabled citizens and villagers."

"As the recession-hit US economy is groping in the dark over uncertain financial position, India has increased its exposure to American debt securities by over three-fold to $38.2 billion till March compared to the year-ago period. Interestingly, India's exposure to US debt has surged by about $20 billion since October 2008, when the ongoing financial turmoil turned for the worse.

Among the foreign countries, neighboring China has the highest investment of $767.9 billion. Japan, the world's second largest economy has invested $686.7 billion in US debts till March 2009. Though corporates, banks and other financial institutions can purchase the bonds, in the case of India, the Reserve Bank accounts for a large part of the lending."

"Nearly 2,000 impoverished farmers living in Central Lombok have recently begun improving their livelihoods while protecting natural forest areas, through a community-based forest management program. The farmers, from two villages in the Batukliang Utara district, are expected to earn an additional Rp 2.5 million ($225) per year thanks to a community-based forest management business license.

Despite living directly near a forest rich in natural resources, until recently residents from both villages had no access to the area. For the majority of people, the main source of income is from working as farm hands or on rain-dependant properties and plantations. Based on the number receiving direct cash assistance grants and the rice-for-the-poor program, at least 80 percent of a total 8,350 people are considered to be living in poverty."

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