"Vendors, store owners, drivers of public utility vehicles and other self-employed workers now represent half of the Philippines's 33-million workforce, according to a labor official. Workers in the informal sector reached 16.5 million so far in 2009, due to the effects of the worldwide economic downturn.

Most of the workers in the informal sector were displaced employees from companies, which shut down because of financial troubles. The increase in the number of self-employed workers only showed the importance of the informal sector in keeping the economy afloat and the unemployment rate to a manageable level."

"Unless the Indian government makes serious changes to the way it prices and manages water, increased consumption by the nation's farms, factories and growing population will push drinking water supplies to critical limits by 2050, according to a new report. Part of the problem is that in many of India's 35 states and territories, water is free or heavily subsidized. That encourages those with access, particularly commercial users, to squander it.

Increased industrialization in India, fueled by the addition of water-intensive thermal power plants, will further strain water supplies, the report suggested. In 2000, industry was responsible for about 6 percent of India's water consumption. By 2025, the researchers expect it to account for 11 percent, and by 2050, 18 percent."

"Many enterprises in Viet Nam have been targeting the domestic market since facing difficulties exporting products. They believe that the domestic market of 85 million consumers is full of potential. However, businesses in many production fields have to compete fiercely with import products right in the home market.

Though plastics, textile and garment and footwear producers have slashed sale prices, they are still finding it hard to get a foothold with the landslide of cheap import products and diverse designs. Garment and footwear producers are having the biggest difficulties, not only because their sale prices are less competitive, but also because domestic products are inferior to imports in terms of design and distribution network."

"In Hiware Bazaar, what was once a perennially drought prone area is now a green zone. The village has neatly laid concrete roads, public toilets and sanitation systems. The men have virtually no vices as liquor and cigarettes are banned. Cattle grazing and tree felling is not allowed. The magical transformation has taken place because of voluntary labor of the residents to create a watershed and utilize the resources in a proper way.

Almost all of the population was below the poverty line just two decades ago. Migration to neighboring towns and cities was common. Today, this village is studied by researchers and activists as a model of rural sustainability through people's participation. Roadside plantations, cement concrete check dams, minor lakes and other watershed development programs were implemented through the voluntary donation of labor."

"The debate on how PRC should use its huge foreign reserves is back in focus. The global financial crisis has prompted the U.S. to adopt an expansive budget and a loose financial policy to check the economy from receding further. Such a policy has caused the world's confidence in the dollar to diminish further, and increased the risk of countries holding U.S. national debts. As a result, economies holding dollar-denominated assets have tried to cut their dollar investments and explore new avenues to change their reserves structure.

An economy has to change the structure of its foreign reserves to adapt to changing political and economic situations at home and abroad. But a reasonable structural adjustment does not mean unprincipled application or misuse of the reserves. No change should blur the fundamental attribute of a country's foreign reserves of representing its 'national credit.'"

"The Jakarta city administration is set to drastically increase the tariff for well-to-do households and industries using groundwater in order to prevent rapid land subsidence. The groundwater tariff will be raised by up to six times the original rate for industries and 16 times the usual rate for wealthy households.

Data shows that 53 percent of water consumed in Jakarta is groundwater. Users include households, offices, apartments, malls and industries. Several areas in Jakarta face critical groundwater conditions, with water being drawn from depths of at least 16 meters. Other areas, where water can still be found at a depth of 8 meters to 12 meters, are prone to imminent water crises."

"Thailand, Viet Nam and Lao PDR have launched a scheme allowing trucks to drive across the three countries without stopping, in a major boost for road trade in the region, the Asian Development Bank said. Haulers going between Viet Nam and Thailand can now get permits meaning their goods no longer have to be unloaded, checked and reloaded in transit country Lao and can proceed direct to their destinations.

You can now set out from Thailand, do business in Lao, and arrive in time for dinner at Danang in Vietnam -- all in the space of a single day. The new Cross-Border Transport Agreement speeds up overland shipments traveling along the East-West Economic Corridor, which runs from Danang in central Vietnam, through to southwest Lao and into Thailand."

"The Thai government has the right idea to end mortgages for agricultural crops, and move to a more sustainable system of floor prices. But before proceeding, it must ensure the new system is not simply a coating on the old one. In recent years, the mortgage system has almost totally abandoned farmers while enriching middlemen and speculators.

Last year's rice mortgages let down the nation's rice farmers badly. Farmers got little to nothing of the record-high rice prices. Speculators bought up the crops, collected the mortgages from the government, and will make another profit by selling the rice now, both locally and abroad. Important farm crops should receive price supports backed by the government."

"The recent opening of Viet Nam's first deepwater port in Cai Mep, outside of Ho Chi Minh City, will benefit Cambodia's sea transportation by reducing transit periods and cutting costs, according to shipping analysts. As well as increased through traffic, the main benefits for Cambodia are that exports from the country would also no longer have to rely solely on Hong Kong and Singapore.

With the new deepwater terminal in South Viet Nam, shippers can save about three to four days in travel time and $300 per container by not transiting through Singapore Port, instead leaving directly from Vietnam Deepwater Terminal to the United States and Europe."

"Kazakhstan's higher education system is taking a battering from the global financial crisis, jeopardizing Astana's ambitious plans to turn the country into an Asian tiger economy. Thousands of young people face expulsion from universities as they find themselves unable to pay tuition and fees. The government has moved to quell public outcry by fast-tracking measures to assist financially strapped students.

There are wider implications: problems in higher education could jeopardize President Nazarbayev's key priorities of transforming Kazakhstan into a knowledge economy, turning the country trilingual and making it one of the world's 50 most competitive countries. Financial difficulties are hitting state and private universities alike, with both facing falling enrollment and decreasing revenues from students."

"The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is drawing up measures to empower small and micro businesses, including efforts to address problems of limited access to financing. The measures would be derived from inputs from relevant stakeholders -- small and micro businesses, the banking sector and regulators -- and put together under a road map.

The country's micro, small and medium businesses have proven their resilience amid waves of economic crises. Still, the sector needs help to speed up its development, because under the current conditions, officials say it will take more than 40 years to assist those 40 million 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.