"The number of people unemployed in 2009 could increase by between 29.4 million and 58.8 million people globally, and between 9 and 26.3 million in Asia Pacific, compared to 2007, according to new projections from the International Labor Organization. This means that the number of people unemployed in the Asia Pacific region as a whole could top 112.2 million people. Furthermore, the number of workers in so-called vulnerable employment could rise by 52 million, amounting to a total of more than 1.1 billion.

Vulnerable employment is a major challenge, underscoring the need to include social protection measures in crisis response packages. In South Asia the number of vulnerable workers is projected rise to almost 79 percent of all workers or 493 million people. Working poverty is also a concern. According to the most pessimistic scenario the number of people working in Asia Pacific but living in households that survive on less than $1.25 per person per day could rise to 589 million, or more than two-thirds of the global total."

"Now that India's government has been formed and ministries assigned, analysts have raised the expectation levels of the full budget due shortly. The budget should be presented in the next couple of months. A major challenge is balancing economic growth and reducing the fiscal deficit. The deficit has gone up quite sharply due to the stimulus packages announced by the government a few months ago. Analysts feel the government should generate capital receipts through divestments in some public sector undertakings and fund schemes in rural development, and social and infrastructure spending.

Many sectors want foreign direct investment reforms -- real estate, retail, banking and insurance to name a few. Decontrolling the fuel prices is another important aspect which requires attention from the government as it has a huge weightage on the fiscal deficit. Infrastructure is an area that requires immediate attention to ensure sustained growth over the next many years. Massive investments are required in the area of road infrastructure projects, energy projects etc."

"Myanmar's financial system and economy are largely cut off from the outside world -- but not the global economic crisis. Key sectors such as agriculture and tourism are reeling, and business in the commercial center of Yangon has dwindled, residents and economists say. Credit has dried up, remittance income is falling as thousands of workers returning from abroad are discovering that jobs are scarce.

Myanmar's economy has long suffered from high unemployment, minimal foreign investment and crumbling infrastructure. With few successful domestic industries, the country relies heavily on sales of natural gas, timber and other commodities. But the situation isn't all bad. Lower commodities prices have helped ease inflation, which hit 30% in recent years, and weaker demand for imported goods has improved the country's trade balance, boosting the local currency, the kyat."

"Tariq Sayeed, president Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), said infrastructure deficit is impeding South Asia's growth where private initiatives could do a lot of good for the development of the region. The Saarc chamber chief said there are hurdles to be crossed, trust-bridges are to be built but if the private players come forward to mitigate the problem of South Asia then it would work faster than the political initiative.

Citing success stories of EU, Nafta and Asean, he said these could inspired other regional groupings to lay-down necessary infrastructure for regional integration. In the 2008 Investment Climate Assessment survey, it was found that about 40 percent of Indian firms, 45 percent of Pakistani and 70 percent of Bangladeshi firms regarded infrastructure as a major obstacle to business expansion."

"Despite this year's slowdown, investors continue to believe strongly in the Asia story. Rapid urbanization, an expanding middle class and government policies that promote prosperity are among the factors driving future growth in that region. While emerging Asia remains heavily reliant on exports, it is consuming an increasing amount of its own production. In 2001, private consumption in emerging Asia was 25 percent of the U.S. level. In 2008, it was 38 percent.

China’s spending to build out its infrastructure has gotten a lot of attention, but that emphasis is a key government initiative in many Asian countries. Construction cranes are a common sight in Singapore, where the government has committed to spending more than $40 billion over the next three years on new roads, public housing and other infrastructure projects."

"The main source of Cambodian employment and economic output -- its informal economy -- is struggling to sustain growth during the global financial crisis. Cambodia's informal economy is defined as businesses that do not register with the government, do not pay taxes and hire few employees. These accounted for 80 percent of GDP and close to 90 percent of employment.

Last month, the government pledged to spend over 31 billion riels (about $7.6 million) on training the jobless, hoping to improve workers' productivity and resilience to the crisis. But, despite this, some observers say the government does not focus much on this sector, or offer more credit for them to expand their businesses and improve their capacities. So far, about 70,000 formal workers have been rendered unemployed during the crisis."

"As China and India industrialize, there is a glaring need for technological innovation to ensure that limited natural resources are consumed with high efficiency. Venture capitalists have a key role to play in fostering that innovation. VCs typically consider India to be just a technology deployment market. That view is too narrow: India has not just the entrepreneurial competence but also the scientific talent to invent and lead in science-driven innovation.

There is no dearth of scientific ability in India, but Indians prefer to work in laboratories abroad thanks to the lack of cutting-edge infrastructure in their home country. What's missing here are incentives for innovation and entrepreneurship. With prudent government policy and a thriving ecosystem, private capital can kick-start the transformation of laboratory inventions into marketable products."

"A draft of mandatory environmental measures has been completed for the growing number of Chinese companies that invest in overseas projects. The regulations might become effective in a couple of months and would cover all Chinese companies with businesses abroad.

China's outbound investors would be asked to review any environmental impact their projects might have before they are started, and their projects will have to include environmental protection measures such as sewage and waste treatment facilities. Chinese companies would be required to follow international environmental treaties China has signed as well as the green regulations in other countries. If the projects cause any damage to the ecology, they would have to provide compensation."

"The Philippines -- until now a rare example of economic growth in the global downturn -- reported an unexpected contraction for the first quarter and revised downward positive figures from earlier periods, as the government faced the prospect of recession. Gross domestic product fell 2.3 percent from the fourth quarter and grew a slim 0.4 percent from a year before, well below the official forecast of 1.8-2.8 percent growth.

Apart from weak government spending, a sharp decline in the growth of personal consumption, which accounts for almost two-thirds of GDP, also pushed the economy toward contraction, economists said. Consumption grew only 0.8 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, down from 5.1 percent in the same period in 2008."

"China's central government has allocated 270 billion yuan ($39.7 billion) for infrastructure investment so far this year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. That amount is part of a planned total of 367.6 billion yuan in the 2009 central budget.

Adding another 30 billion yuan from last year's budget meant that the country had already allocated 300 billion yuan to infrastructure investment since the fourth quarter of last year. The money is also part of the 4-trillion-yuan, two-year stimulus plan announced late last year as the economic downturn deepened."

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