"Reserve Bank of India Governor D. Subbarao has urged bankers to meet the formidable challenges of deepening financial inclusion, financing infrastructure, strengthening risk management and improving efficiency. Commercial banking in India has not penetrated sufficiently to serve the large mass of rural, illiterate and poor people in a meaningful way, he noted.

A big issue in bank financing of infrastructure is the asset-liability mismatch. While infrastructure typically requires long-term funding, the deposits of banks, their main source of funds, are relatively short-term. The problem of asset-liability mismatch in long-term financing is not unique to India; banks elsewhere too face the same problem. But in advanced economies, the long term finance space is filled by insurance companies and pension and provident funds."

"Urban poverty alleviation cannot be conducted effectively without a thorough understanding of the scale and role of the migrants, according to an expert. Migration is indispensable, but it is necessary to reform immigration management. Urban management policies often create constraints on the livelihoods of poor people.

For instance, policies to ban or restrict street hawking and self-made vehicles in inner-city areas will make difficulties for the poor in earning their living from these jobs. Increasing vulnerabilities such as financial and the food crisis, unstable conditions of employment and migration are the main symptoms of the rising trend of the urban poverty rate."

"The value of mobilized domestic investment in Indonesia has doubled this year as confidence in the country's economy increased, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) says. From January to October, the total value of domestic investment soared by just over 100 percent to Rp 32.47 trillion ($3.44 billion) from Rp 15.88 trillion in the same period in 2008. The number of projects financed was 212, up from 194 last year.

Approved domestic investment commitments also increased in value. As of the end of October BKPM has issued approvals for 233 projects with a total investment value of Rp163.75 trillion, a 20 percent increase on 136.17 trillion in 2008. The rise in domestic investment commitments and realization reflected that the economy had fared despite the global downturn."

"A debilitating handicap can mean a lifetime sentence of frustration in the Kyrgyz Republic as the country does not have the resources to create the appropriate educational infrastructure for handicapped students. Thus, many young people with disabilities cannot attend school on a regular basis. Disabled children cannot go to primary and secondary schools or colleges due to certain barriers like high staircases, the lack of entrance ramps, and a lack of programs to train teachers to work with such children.

To provide education to disabled children, large investments are needed to construct new schools and renovate existing facilities. Transportation infrastructure must also be modernized for handicapped people. These appear to be low priorities for the government, given the current economic circumstances, observers say."

"Central Banks around the Asia-Pacific region may be laying the groundwork for the next financial crisis by relying too much and too long on low interest rates to help their economies recover from the global financial crisis. Loose monetary policies around the world were encouraging investors to borrow funds at low interest rates. These investors then invest the funds into higher yielding investments in emerging markets like the Philippines, fueling sharp increases in asset prices, including those of shares listed on stock markets.

Asia-Pacific nations, especially China and Japan, must play a key role in preventing another crisis. This could be done mainly by preventing the rise of protectionism and economic nationalism as governments try to shore up local economies by preventing the entry and consumption of foreign goods."

"The rat population is growing exponentially in the Ayeyarwady Delta, where agriculture is the primary income source for 60 percent of families, and posing a new risk to the livelihood recovery of communities still suffering from the cyclone's impact, experts say. The increase in the rat population is most likely due to the loss of predators such as snakes, dogs and cats during Cyclone Nargis.

With a three-week gestation cycle, rats are breeding more quickly than snakes, which take two to three months to produce offspring. Since more delta land is lying fallow than before the cyclone, rats are also profiting from favorable habitats and food availability. To solve the problem, cyclone-affected farmers have been instructed by the government to kill up to 15 rats a day, and submit their tails to local authorities, or risk being fined. Despite the culling efforts, there are probably three to four times as many rats still living in the delta."

"With economic growth having accelerated from 6.1 percent in the first quarter of this year -- the slowest in almost a decade -- to 7.9 percent in the second quarter and 8.9 percent in the third, PRC has ostensibly put itself back on the track of fast growth it has enjoyed over the past three decades. Yet, accelerated economic growth does not mean that the Chinese government has the job all done.

The lingering uncertainty about the global recovery as well as the huge difficulty in transforming the country's growth pattern will require even greater efforts to press ahead with critical domestic reforms. In comparison, the more certain and compelling task for the country is to shift more rapidly its economic model toward consumer spending from one driven by investment and exports. Increased Chinese consumer spending would not only sustain domestic growth but also help reduce global imbalances."

"Outlets of telecom companies such as Airtel and Vodafone may soon double as bank kiosks for financial services like fund transfers or bill payments, especially in parts of India where there are very few banks or none at all. This would allow customers to transfer money to a distant relative or pay shopping bills at the press of a button.

The IT ministry suggested that low-value transactions should be allowed through mobile phones with little or no involvement of banks. It also proposed future two-way links between the UID Authority and mobile operators. It said the maximum permissible limit of Rs 5,000 should also be increased further to serve the purpose of financial inclusion."

"Governments in emerging East Asia have been encouraged to step up efforts in building respective bond markets as outstanding currency bonds in the region totaled an equivalent of $4.2 trillion as of end-September. According to the Asia Bond Monitor (ABM) quarterly report, the amount is 14.8 percent higher than that in September 2008, and nearly eight times the level at the end of 1996, or just before the Asian financial crisis struck.

Emerging East Asia accounts for some 6 percent of the global bond market, improving from only 2 percent in 1996. There is a need to increase the issuance of local currency bonds, while governments must take measures to encourage institutional and foreign investors to buy Asian bonds. Governments would need to improve regulatory and policy frameworks so investors would be comfortable investing in the region's markets."

"Lenders in Viet Nam are facing a shortage of funds to meet rising demand for loans because gains in gold and the dollar are deterring people from putting money in the bank, according to a government statement. Commercial banks have had to raise deposit interest rates to as high as 9.99 percent over the past week and offered gifts and bonuses to depositors to lure them back, the statement on the government's website said.

The funding shortage has prompted some commercial lenders to plan sales of extra shares to raise cash for lending. The Military Commercial Joint-Stock Bank said it will sell 90 million additional shares and the Joint-Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, known as Vietcombank, the nation's biggest-listed company, plans to sell 112.3 million shares."

"A delegation from the International Monetary Fund has recommended the interim Fiji government adapt measures in order to improve its status economically. Fiji faces considerable downside risks given its external vulnerabilities. With the economy expected to contract by 2.5 percent in 2009, the growth outlook remains highly uncertain due to political developments, the fragile nature of the global recovery, the volatility of commodity prices, the risk of natural disasters and the complex structural reform agenda.

Economic growth in Fiji has been sluggish in recent years due to political developments, delays in structural reforms, and worsening terms of trade. Job growth has been slow and unemployment rose to 8.5 percent in 2008."

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