"The number of hungry people in South Asia has jumped by 100 million in the past two years to 400 million, a 40-year high, a UNICEF report said. The situation is aggravated by high food and fuel prices and the global economic slowdown, the report said. Calorie intake has remained stagnant or fallen in many countries despite rising per capita incomes. Nearly half of children under five are malnourished, the worst level in the world including Sub-Saharan Africa.

The report covered Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. High prices have forced the poorest families in the region, who spend the bulk of their income on food, to cut back on other essentials such as health and education and borrow money at high interest, the report said."

"The end to a long war has come just in time for Sri Lanka's economy, according to the country's central bank chief, who is now taking steps to lift low foreign-exchange reserves and spur growth. Foreign capital is crucial to Sri Lanka's effort to revive its economy, which is based on tea, textiles and tourism.

The government wants to begin rebuilding its war-torn north, including roads connecting it to the south and east. Next week, the government plans to roll out a special low-interest loan program to assist farmers, fishermen and small businessmen in the north."

"Japan and PRC will jointly provide financial support for development projects in poorer Asian countries in what will be the first such tie-up between the regional giants, a report said Wednesday. By combining Japan's advanced technologies and expertise with China's labor power, the two countries are seeking to underpin economic expansion in developing nations in the region.

The targets will be large infrastructure projects such as the construction of power plants, highways or railroads, entailing joint participation of firms from both nations. Under the program, governmental financial institutions such as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Export-Import Bank of China would supply loans to import companies in the third countries."

"Indonesia's national energy strategy has set out energy diversification policies focusing on renewable resources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and conservation measures to improve the overall energy efficiency of the economy. However, the implementation of these policies has never been consistent, tending instead to follow the boom-bust cycle of oil prices.

When oil prices rose last year up to $147 per barrel, the government suddenly trumpeted the vital role of palm oil-based biofuels and the urgent need to make energy conservation compulsory for industrial companies. However, it was back to business as usual once oil prices dropped back to as low as $35 per barrel early this year. Most palm oil-based bio-diesel producers had reportedly either stopped production or slashed their operating capacity to 20 percent."

"Some 90 percent of the population in Bangladesh still live in rural areas, with uneven economic and developmental opportunities. Job chances are reasonable in some of the regions but the others have none. The national picture presents a lack of uniformity in economic growth and development. The urban population monopolizes the benefits of jobs and higher income to the exclusion of the rural people. There are also regional disparities in industrialization.

For example, the areas in and around the three major cities of Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna have major industrial concentration whereas other areas lack it. Thus, other areas with surplus agricultural labor force do not offer industrial employment. The government has to build the basic infrastructure in backward areas to facilitate private investment."

"Disenchantment among young people who fought for independence during Timor-Leste's resistance years could lead to unrest if they are not included in the country's development process, analysts warned. A large number of disenfranchised youth are dissatisfied with high unemployment, low wages and lack of access to education, with only 27 percent completing secondary school.

By next year nearly 40 percent of the population will be between 15 and 29 years old. About half the 1.1 million population lives below the poverty line. In Dili, unemployment is as high as 62 percent among those aged 15 to 19, while eight out of 10 young people engage in subsistence activities."

"The growth of the auto industry is problematic for management of urban traffic in PRC. The large-scale widening of roads and elimination of cyclists' lanes in recent decades have failed as solutions. If a portion of the funds used for widening roads had been invested in subways and other means of mass transit, China would have had a better mass transportation system, allowing for easier traffic flow on the roads.

It is unrealistic for a city as populous as Beijing to have its residents commuting to work in their own cars. Fortunately, the Beijing government has shifted its traffic priority from widening roads to developing mass transit systems. More subway lines that have become operational in recent years have, to a large extent, eased traffic. Beijing will increase special lanes for buses by 20 km and extend some of the routes and operation hours this year to further raise the carrying capacity of mass transport."

"The Philippine economy grew only by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of the year. The government was urged last year to spend P75 billion ($1.59 billion) on the economy while the global recession was still beginning to unfold. However, the government failed to take action on the warning because the president's economic managers then were more focused on balancing the budget than preventing the economy from sliding.

They thought the effects of the global recession would not reach the Philippines because of its so-called sound finance and strong economic fundamentals. With the economy teetering toward a recession, the government is again being urged to adopt a stimulus package worth over P100 billion ($2.12 billion)."

"The government is upbeat that deforestation in Indonesia could be averted if international communities grant $4 billion to finance the livelihoods of local people and stop forest conversions. The Forestry Ministry said the money would be used to address the main causes of deforestation prior to the implementation of the reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation mechanism.

The government only has a limited budget to handle deforestation. Many have criticized the Indonesian government for its failure to combat high rates of deforestation, which have risen to over one million hectares per year. Deforestation contributes about 20 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions, with about 75 percent from developing countries."

"The SME sector in Bangladesh has seen double digit growth in recent years, outpacing the country's economic performance as a whole, according to the SME Foundation's managing director. The sector began seeing growth of 8-9 percent from about 1990, and went into double digits over the past two years.

Though small and medium enterprises comprised mainly food and textile producers in the 1990s, the sector has grown to include light engineering, plastics, medicine, furniture, cement and more, he said. He also said poverty alleviation was possible through support and development of SMEs."

Please share this e-newsline with others interested in the development of Asia-Pacific.

For questions, comments, complaints please visit our online contact form

To change your email address or to unsubscribe from ADBI e-newsline please visit:
http://www.adbi.org/e-newsline/subscribe.php

Sign-up for ADBI's free e-notification service to ensure you receive an e-mail when we post new publications and opportunities.

The stories and links selected and the views expressed in e-Newsline are those of the authors and editors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the ADB Institute. The Institute does not endorse them and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequences of their use. Original name usage is retained in quoted articles, although it may not necessarily follow ADB naming conventions.