"The low price of water in PRC has not helped consumers realize the importance of conservation, leading to growing demand and resulting in further waste. In 2007, China used 131 cubic meters of water to produce $1,465 worth of industrial goods, three times higher than the global average. This makes it all the more important for the government to reform the water pricing system. But how to prevent too great an impact on the national economy remains a big question, especially because the demand for water is rising.

The main difficulty in having a comprehensive water pricing mechanism is because the public doubts the claims of the country's monopolistic water supplying enterprises on the real cost of treating and supplying water. The price of water has to be raised in China. But extensive discussions and more data is needed before deciding how and by how much it should be raised."

"Cambodia may launch its first export-import bank to stimulate trade and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), officials said. The new bank will help finance economic development, particularly export industries such as commercial agriculture. Farmers have had difficulty accessing inexpensive credit to upgrade technology and build processing facilities, even from microcredit institutions, which often charge more than 12 percent interest.

Although Cambodian small businesses provide jobs, generate income and contribute to the country's economic development, SMEs lack formal financial support they need to expand their businesses. The government plans to conduct a feasibility study this year, and a budget for the bank could be ready by 2010 for possible launch in the same year."

"Food prices are expected to rise again, according to a new U.N. report. To avert another crisis in Asia and the Pacific, it recommends farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices and avoid over-intensive cultivation. Last year was seen as the year of food crises, prompted in part by high fuel prices, but these started declining as the global recession got underway in late 2008 and eventually returned to 2006 levels, though food prices in many developing countries are still higher than they were then.

The report warned that unless farmers looked at ways to produce food more efficiently, the food security outlook would be bleak. Sustainable agriculture involved the management of both natural and human resources -- maintaining, regenerating or enhancing the natural environment, and ensuring the health of producers by offering them a decent income and working conditions."

"The State Bank of Pakistan has made amendments to guidelines for promoting microfinance in the country. The central bank said it has been decided to give further incentives to commercial banks to provide whole-sale funds to eligible microfinance banks and institutions under the microfinance credit guarantee facility.

Banks now have the option to provide funding to microfinance banks and institutions with the existing 40 percent Partial Guarantee to cover the principal amount in default, or 25 percent first loss guarantee to cover up to 25 percent of the first loss on the principal amount, under the microfinance credit guarantee facility. The guidelines have been simplified to make the provisions more flexible."

"Despite being a key player in the Vietnamese economy, the footwear industry still depends too much on imported materials, which hinders its development, insiders say. Many companies in the U.S. and Japan, the two biggest markets for Vietnamese-made footwear, wanted to place more orders with Vietnamese producers instead of doing business mostly with Chinese exporters.

But when they visited Viet Nam and found that local firms import most of the materials from China, they gave up on the plan. Raw material costs account for as much as 80 percent of the value of the finished products. But domestic suppliers only produce some parts -- like shoelaces and labels -- with everything else needing to be imported."

"In a stunning turnaround from a year ago, the Indonesian government is considering extending the rice export period until August and is suggesting that exporters postpone plans to ship premium-quality rice because world prices have fallen so dramatically.

The Ministry of Agriculture set its rice export quota in January, licensing nine companies to export up to 100 tons of premium-quality rice through June in anticipation of harvest surpluses in 2009. However, the quota has not been met. The government is considering extending the export period until August, when the second harvest season begins."

"Imports to the Philippines in March fell from a year earlier at a record pace, hit by weak demand for electronics parts largely used in export products, deflating optimism that global demand may be picking up. Electronics parts are the Philippines' biggest import and they are mostly turned into export products sold mainly in PRC, the U.S. and Japan, providing a barometer on the health of demand.

Overall imports dropped 36.2 percent from a year earlier, the fifth month in a row that imports have dropped more than 30 percent, as electronics parts demand dropped 40.7 percent. Months of falling imports had suggested that Philippine companies were drawing down inventories to cope with the global financial crisis rather than importing materials and parts."

"PRC says it may encourage private investment in state-controlled industries such as railways, oil and power generation in an effort to boost the efficiency of the world's third-largest economy. The move is also aimed at countering monopolies or quasi monopolies in various industries, a legacy of decades of centralized planning.

Major state-owned companies, many of which are under direct Cabinet control, enjoy strong advantages in obtaining financing, share listings and contracts. Beijing has been building up elite government-owned companies to dominate domestic industries such as oil, telecommunications and finance. But officials acknowledge such companies are so far much less competitive than their private counterparts elsewhere."

"India's new government is committed to restoring high economic growth, while ensuring that hundreds of millions of poor Indians share the gains of rising prosperity, the new finance minister said. Business executives, both in India and overseas, have been eagerly watching the new administration for signals on whether it will further open India's economy to foreign investment and privatization -- especially in the insurance, banking, pension fund and retailing sectors.

The finance minister highlighted the success of two costly programs of the last administration: an employment guarantee program and farmer debt relief, which he said together helped over 70 million poor rural families."

"To keep economic development on a sustainable basis, the Pakistan government plans a comprehensive strategy for infrastructure development along with creation of employment opportunities and poverty alleviation. Sustained economic growth and enhanced connectivity and competitiveness require the development of cost-effective and efficient physical infrastructure.

Water scarcity resulting from climatic change and higher demand is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. The government was making a water strategy that would focus on water augmentation, conservation, and its efficient use. Irrigation infrastructure operations and on-farm practices need ownership of the stakeholders such as farmers."

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