"The summit between Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRICs) on June 16 marked the first such official meeting of a group largely confined to the pages of economic analysis. Signals from BRIC members suggesting they want to reduce their dollar assets and increase the use of domestic currencies in international trade have attracted much media attention and added to pressure on the dollar.

The relatively more optimistic growth expectations for (most of) the BRIC countries has analysts speaking again of the 'decoupling' theory, which holds that parts of Europe and Asia are detaching themselves from the U.S. economy. In particular, India and China are expected to be among the very few countries that will grow at or above 5% this year. The strong inflow of foreign investment into local markets has already triggered central banks to intervene and start to build international reserves once more."

"There are growing calls for the Thai government to speed up the reality of making the Kra Canal project happen. The project has stalled in recent years due to the country's domestic political turmoil, but it is increasingly being seen as a means to boost to the economy as well as economies elsewhere in Asia. The project -- by far the largest development project ever undertaken in Asia -- would build a Panama Canal-type short cut directly from the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea, something that would fundamentally change the face of the regions shipping.

Japan’s Global Infrastructure Fund has studied the project and estimated it would cost $20 billion to build, and employ some three million people for the ten year construction. China and Japan are strongly in favor of the Kra Canal as it significantly reduces cost and risks concerning Middle Eastern oil imports. It would also solve the navigation problem with the Straits of Malacca, which are silting and are not suitable for the new generation of giant oil tankers and currently route via Sumatra."

"Philippine President Arroyo on Thursday hailed 'a new era of economic relations' with Japan after a trade deal took effect last year, and called for more Japanese investment in her country. Japan, meanwhile, pledged fresh low-interest loans worth up to 45 billion yen ($470 million) for transportation infrastructure and rural projects, plus one billion yen in grant aid for disaster relief.

The bilateral free trade deal which took effect last December removes all tariffs on about 94 percent of bilateral trade by value and allows Philippine nurses and care workers to work in Japan on a long-term basis. Tokyo is the largest trading partner for Manila, while Manila is the second largest destination for Japanese foreign direct investment after the United States."

"The global economic crisis is also a social crisis in Asia, with an estimated 60 million people remaining mired in poverty due to falling growth rates, according to the Asian Development Bank's managing director general. Rajat M. Nag said the estimated three percent drop in GDP between 2008-9 in developing Asia -- excluding Japan, Australia and New Zealand -- meant 60 million would fail to emerge from poverty. An extra 10 million people would be undernourished and around 56,000 more children aged under five would die.

Developing Asia at present exports 60 percent of its production to Japan, the Eurozone and the United States. Asia must boost consumption -- an important part of poverty reduction -- by saving less and spending more. The regional savings rate is very high, largely to compensate for the lack of welfare programs. Service industries should also be encouraged. At present, services in Asia are difficult to access because of protectionist or other measures."

"An expected two-year delay in output from Cambodia's first domestic oil field could be a blessing in disguise for Cambodia, the head of the National Assembly's finance and banking committee said. A new timeframe for extraction from the Chevron-controlled field has been announced, which puts the start of production anywhere between 2013 and 2015, and would give the government more time to develop laws to govern the sector.

The delay was put down to falling oil prices, but the government's relationship with Chevron has come under the spotlight in recent months after negotiations over an extension to the US energy giant's license, which expired in April, came to a standstill. According to the International Monetary Fund, government revenue from oil reserves in the Gulf of Thailand could initially reach $174 million a year and climb to $1.7 billion a year after 10 years of development, almost matching the entire government budget for 2009."

"Pacific Islands countries and territories must sustainably use and manage their scarce natural resources as environmental threats like land degradation grow in the region. The comments were made as the Pacific joins the rest of the world in marking World Desertification Day on 17 June. The Pacific needs to embrace sustainable development through a holistic approach such as ecosystem-based management. This approach would address interactions among land resources, water, air, biota and human activities.

The expansion of commercial cropping into marginal lands, cropping on fragile soils without conservation measures in place, deforestation and burning of grassland are also causing land degradation, lower crop and pasture yields and growing food insecurity and rural poverty. These trends will continue into the future unless there is systematic and long-term planning and policy development."

"Poverty is predominantly a rural phenomenon in the Philippines, which explains why the rural poor have been trooping in droves to the cities. Not surprisingly, urban poverty is on the rise. While rural poverty remains more than double urban poverty, the share of urban poor to total poverty has been increasing since 2000 due to rapid urbanization and inequitable income distribution.

Between 2003 and 2006, the share of the poor population living in the urban areas increased from 23.2 percent to 28.8 percent. With rural-urban migration and rapid population growth, this trend can be expected to continue over time unless rapid urbanization is accompanied by better income distribution. The poor and vulnerable in the Philippines suffer from risks arising from threats to their human rights; lack of employment and income security; poor governance and government corruption; lack of education and health services; and environmental deterioration and climate change, among others."

"One of the most worrisome aspects of the last couple years in China has been its overly rapid development of urban areas and the sometimes careless disregard for its environmental and social impact. At least now it seems like someone in the government is recognizing the problem, to the point of calling the current economic downturn a great opportunity to refocus on other priorities. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a central government think tank, released the Blue Book of Cities in China on Monday.

The report recommended that the government achieve sustainable development, increase investment in existing infrastructure and reducing the cost of urban living and living standards. It also asked for reform in the residential registration system, in order to grant privileges to more rural residents. Urbanization had not narrowed income gaps. According to the blue book, the urban/rural income ratio averaged about 5 in 2008 by contrast with the gap in 2000 when the ratio was 2.79."

"Few developers are pushing proposals for new special economic zones (SEZs) in India. Demand dynamics brought on by the global slowdown and persistent land acquisition problems are forcing developers to alter their plans. Of the 58 SEZ proposals on the agenda, only two are for setting up new zones; 23 zones are applying for an extension of the validity period and two are seeking de-notification on the grounds that the economic downturn has resulted in lower demand.

When the economy was growing at 9 percent, there was a rush to set up SEZs. Between February 2006 and May 2009, the government gave formal approvals to 568 proposals, nearly 60 percent for IT. But exports are taking place in only 90 zones. So, only 16 percent of the formally approved proposals are contributing to India’s exports."

"Construction is set to begin on Vietnam's $8.2 billion ecological urban center in Hung Yen province. Covering 500 ha in Van Giang district, the Eco Park is expected to become the first ecological city in Vietnam, with almost 22% of its area zoned off for tree planting and lakes -- the highest rate in the country’s new urban centers.

The real estate market is forecast to warm up at ecological urban centers in the years to come and that is the reason why companies are pouring in huge investments to catch this early trend. The Eco Park will feature a commercial area, an old quarter, a residential area, a golf course, lakeside villas and other areas."

"Net foreign investment in Pakistan fell 47.5 percent to $2.22 billion in the first 11 months of the 2008/09 fiscal year compared with $4.23 billion in the same period last year, the State Bank of Pakistan said on Wednesday. Out of total foreign investment, foreign direct investment was down 19.8 percent to $3.32 billion, compared with $4.15 billion the previous year. There have been outflows from the stock market because of political uncertainty as well as economic and security worries.

Rated deep in junk bond territory, Pakistan was saved from a balance of payments crisis and default by a $7.6 billion emergency loan package from the International Monetary Fund last November. The economy is also in virtual recession with gross domestic product growth for the 2008/09 fiscal year expected at 2 percent, compared with 4.1 percent last year."

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