"Despite regular monsoons, Jakarta and national authorities have done little to alleviate the impact of the annual rainy season. Given that Indonesia sits in the tropics and that torrential rains are to be expected, a little planning and better management could go a long way toward making life that much easier when the rains do come. The government is currently working on a second flood canal to ease the flooding problem in the capital, but it will take time to complete.

In the meantime, more could be done to dredge existing rivers to allow water to flow more smoothly to the sea. To lessen congestion on roads, better traffic management is also urgently needed. Traffic management is a science, and all too often very little thought is given to how traffic should flow to ease congestion. One simple solution could be the synchronizing of the city's traffic lights so that traffic can flow smoothly through heavily-congested areas."

"Nearly two decades after reforms began, five years into the highest growth ever, the mining industry in India is still locked in an outdated framework. While every other sector in the state's domain is whiffing the sweet smell of foreign investments and technology, the mining sector's doors have yet to be opened; a belated attempt made last year at new legislation that would let in some fresh air has yet to be steered through Parliament.

The government has set a target of some $22 billion investment in mining over the next couple of years but things haven't gone too well; in 2008 just $359 million poured in through 11 projects, eight of which were domestic investments. The problems associated with the mining industry are, in fact, central to industrialization itself and therefore remain critical elements in need of urgent policy attention."

"A birth certificate is a fact of life for many. Yet there are millions of babies born each year who are never registered, depriving them of vital education and health care and leaving them vulnerable to abuse. Without registration, it is difficult, if not impossible, to gain access to vital services such as health care, education and welfare support, says child rights organization Plan International.

However, this has now changed for some 40 million people in 32 countries over the past five years, thanks to a Plan International campaign called Universal Birth Registration. In Cambodia, about seven million people -- 56% of the population -- picked up their birth certificates in just 10 months, the report says. In one area of Indonesia, registration rates rose from just 3 percent to 72 percent in two years."

"Higher education is at something of a crossroads in PRC. Analysts in and outside China warn that its exceptional progress to date could be stymied without deep cultural reform. According to a report, total tertiary education enrolments have risen from 5 million in the early 1990s to 23 million; annual university applications via the national examination system rose from 3 million in 1998 to 8.7 million in 2005; and the education participation rate for those aged 18-22 has grown from less than 10 percent to 22 percent.

But a big and developing system brings big challenges. For one, there are entrenched teaching cultures ill-suited to the needs of a rapidly developing knowledge economy such as China's."

"The bill for post-typhoon reconstruction in the Philippines may shoot up on account of the lifting of a government-imposed price cap on fuel products. Latest data showed that wholesale prices of construction materials continued to drop in October largely because of cheaper fuel products. However, fuel prices are widely expected to spike after Malacanang lifted Executive Order (EO) 839, which pegged the ceiling to October 15 levels in areas affected by the typhoons, particularly National Capital Region, Central and Northern Luzon.

The price control was aimed at helping hard-hit households and businesses in their post-typhoon reconstruction efforts. Industry officials had said they would have to increase prices by P4.50 to P5.00 per liter to reflect higher import costs prevailing when the EO 839 was in force."

"The meager education of small farmers in Pakistan, lack of access to credit facilities, late application of fertilizers, and irrigational constraints faced by poor farmers who are often situated at the tail-end of water-courses, all combine to result in lowering their efficiency. A study has pointed toward a positive correlation between productivity and the security of land tenure.

It makes common sense that people who have greater rights over the land they cultivate will try to invest more effort and resources to increase yields from it. It should therefore not be surprising that policy distortions or market imperfections can create a bias toward large farms. For instance, the fact that farm subsidies often favor large farmers is hard to dispute."

"A delegation from PRC has said it would urge firms in the region's fastest-growing economy to increase Cambodian trade and investment with the introduction of the ASEAN-China free trade zone from January 1. A representative said there remained big business opportunities in Cambodia particularly in energy, agriculture, tourism, telecommunications and garments.

Chinese investment in Cambodia has dropped sharply this year as the economic crisis slowed construction projects, and firms from the world's third-largest economy have sought much smaller developments. In the first nine months of 2008, Chinese investment in Cambodia hit a record $3.94 billion, figures showed, compared with just $339 million during the same period this year."

"High monetary costs aimed at taming inflation have led Bank Indonesia to project an Rp 1.9 trillion ($203 million) budget deficit for 2009, a central bank official has told the House of Representatives finance commission. Analysts said rising monetary costs were a consequence of BI's policy of curbing liquidity and keeping prices down by issuing too many Bank Indonesia notes (SBIs), which yield more than 6.5 percent annual interest.

Darmin Nasution, the central bank's senior deputy governor, said issuing SBIs to absorb excess liquidity, that would have sparked inflation, had contributed to the shortfall. According to Bank Indonesia, SBI holdings have risen 23 percent to Rp 217 trillion through September this year. Foreign holdings of the notes have rocketed more than 300 percent to Rp 36 trillion over the same period."

"Remittances sent to the Philippines surged in September as the sustained growth in demand for Filipino workers debunked earlier fears that the global economic crunch would slow down the inflow of money from abroad. The central bank has reported that remittances from Filipinos based overseas rose 8.6 percent to $1.4 billion in September from $1.33 billion a year ago.

The latest figure brought total remittances in the first nine months to $12.8 billion, up 4.2 percent from $12.27 billion in the same period last year. Analysts said the increase in remittances might even accelerate in the fourth quarter when overseas Filipinos send more money in time for Christmas. The central bank governor credited the government's earlier move to sign labor deals with other countries for the steady rise in remittances."

"Bangladesh has become a global hub for outsourcing sportswear as internationally renowned brands in large numbers are flocking here to purchase such special clothing ahead of big global sports events. The quality and cheaper rate of local apparel attracts buyers, industry insiders say.

Dozens of garment factories are now getting export orders round the year. Bangladesh has been supplying sportswear for different renowned football, cricket and baseball clubs in the U.S., EU and other countries. Meanwhile, Bangladesh exported RMG products worth $3.03 billion in the first three months (July-September) of the current fiscal year compared with $3.35 billion in the same period last year."

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.