"Korea and Indonesia agreed Monday to join efforts to establish a network of economic cooperation in the region that will also help fight global issues such as climate change. The agreement came one day after Korea' President Lee called for an Asian economic bloc that he said would prepare the region to take the center stage of the world economy once the ongoing global economic crisis is over.

The two leaders welcomed the agreement reached last month on the Chiang Mai Initiative and development of an Asian bond market. Korea and ASEAN agreed in April to establish a $120-billion fund along with Japan and China. The two countries also agreed to strengthen their bilateral ties. President Lee requested the Indonesian government's support for Korean businesses that are investing in the country's IT, construction, forestation and defense industries."

"There is large economic disparity among the regions in China. At the broadest level, China consists of three economies: the eastern area, which accounts for 64% of the national economy; the central area, which accounts for 26% of national economy; and the western area. The impact of global economic recession on different regions inside China is quite uneven, reflecting each region's initial conditions such as its economic structure in general and exposure to foreign demand in particular.

The income level among the three areas is quite uneven. But beyond the near term, the current global economic turmoil and the Chinese authorities' policy response should serve to help narrow the regional economic disparities that have widened in the past decade. This bodes well for a more integrated nationwide market and balanced growth in the long run."

"Bhutan has made tremendous progress in socio-economic development in the last 24 years, says a study by the national statistical bureau. The rural population's access to piped water has increased from 14 percent then to 89.6 percent now. Another impressive jump has been in education where 176,483 students are enrolled in school today, compared to 51,835.

In an effort to connect every dzongkhag and gewog, the road network has increased from 1,755 km to 5,362 km. Although agriculture is still growing, its share of GDP has fallen from 53 percent to 18.1 percent due to more developmental activity in other sectors of the economy. In the area of health, the average life expectancy has jumped from 47.5 to 66.3 today and infant mortality rates have decreased from 142 to 40.1 per thousand."

"Australia and the Global Fund say they have plans to convert Indonesia's commercial debt under an innovative scheme to promote public health. Under a program called Debt2Health, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Australia, jointly issued a statement saying that they are set to write off the debt in exchange for commitments that the money which is freed up will be spent on fighting tuberculosis.

Indonesia's debts amount to 75 million Australian dollars. Under the Australian-Indonesian deal, instead of repaying the debt, Indonesia will pay half of the outstanding debt to the Global Fund, which will administer the money through its established programs. It is the first time that commercial debt is being forgiven by the Australian authorities."

"The growth of Nepal's urban population is posing a great challenge to urban planners. The UN reports that the lives in Nepal's cities are more fragile than in rural areas. Given the dramatic increase in urban populations, the rise of squatter settlements and slums and the increasing number of unserviced areas, Nepal's urban poor are under a major threat.

There is an increasing realization that urban poverty is declining much slower than rural poverty. A fundamental problem in identifying developmental priorities arises because of conflicting definitions as to who constitutes the poor. To some, the poor are those who lack access to opportunities such as education and employment, including the shortage of basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water. The management of slums is a necessary condition to maintain the unmanageable balance of growth of urban population."

"While China's export and investment growth remained at a low level in the first quarter, domestic consumer spending increased rapidly, helping to offset the impact of shrinking foreign demand and weaker investment. Is this growth sustainable? Consumption is likely to remain a major driving force of the nation's growth.

Population is also a major factor when it comes to consumption. Between 2006 and 2008, China's population increased by 6.82 million. Meanwhile, ongoing urbanization will also help spur domestic consumption. Now, a significant part of China's population is at the age of peak consumer spending. This means that the next decade could be a period of extremely rapid growth in China's consumer spending."

"Power outages cost India $9.2 billion in 2008, according to a report, with the disruptions causing direct losses in numerous sectors. While the Indian economy has developed quickly in recent years, its infrastructure has struggled to keep pace and scheduled and non-scheduled power outages still occur. With the gap between power supply and demand predicted to remain the same, companies are increasingly developing contingency plans and alternate power sources.

The problem is further compounded by unclean power and other basic constraints like earthing, cabling and lack of a viable infrastructure. This has necessitated deployment of business critical continuity solutions for growing businesses. On average power outages last 71 minutes, according to the study."

"Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have discussed a mechanism for long-term cooperation between their state audit agencies and reviewed their implementation of agreements on bilateral cooperation in this field. It is proposed that the three countries conduct joint auditing activities in the fields of hydroelectricity, tourism and environment.

The three state audit agencies agreed that they would suggest that their respective governments incorporate these activities into their inter-governmental cooperative program. They also agreed to organize rotating annual meetings to boost the effectiveness of their cooperation. The next meeting will be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2010."

"India may have been hailed as the world's top outsourcing destination, but a new study has named as many as eight cities in the country among the world's 25 riskiest places for offshoring, mainly on concerns like terrorism, pollution and geopolitical issues. The national capital region comprising Delhi Gurgaon and Noida has earned the dubious distinction of being the worst offshoring destination within the country, according to a survey in the annual Black Book of Outsourcing.

The national capital region is followed by Mumbai as the second riskiest offshoring hub within India, while Kolkata has been ranked as least riskiest in the country. The other domestic cities named in the global list of 25 riskiest offshoring destinations include Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Chandigarh. India accounts for the maximum number of cities in the 25 riskiest places, while China and Mexico lead the tally in the 25 safest list with three cities each."

"China should reform its social security system in a bid to boost domestic demand and transform the current growth model that relies too much on exports, according to leading international economists. Many countries need to adjust their growth models, and in China the government should improve social security for that purpose.

China's high saving rate could lead to more domestic consumption. China's saving rate rose to 49.9 percent in 2007 from 37.5 percent around 1998, compared with 4.2 percent in the United States in February this year. China should encourage major banks to provide more funding to small- and medium-sized enterprises to help them ride out the crisis. Chinese banks usually lend to big state-owned enterprises and infrastructure projects while shying away from SMEs for fear of the bigger bad loan risk."

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