"Rural banks in the Philippines cover a market segment big banks can't be bothered to cover. The money of the farmers, rural businesses and agricultural and fishery entrepreneurs that make up the market segment is too small, and therefore too expensive, for large commercial banks to attend to. Rural banks have done a lot to reduce poverty in the countryside. And they have made it possible for farmers and agri-entrepreneurs to enjoy the use of modern conveniences like ATM cards.

There are more than 2,000 rural banks in the countryside. They service clients with loans as small as P2,000 ($43), which an entrepreneur needs to start up his micro-enterprise. Rural banks account for only about 3 percent of total Philippine bank deposits. Outside Metro Manila, however, rural banks account for 8 percent of total deposits. In some provinces and regions, rural banks' share of deposits sometimes exceeds 20 percent."

"There are two ways of looking at Bangladesh in its present context: one view is that it is destined to have a hopeless future burdened with a gigantic population that is still growing at a brisk pace. The other view is optimistic that finds Bangladesh to be a big market already, far bigger than many countries by comparison, with prospects of this market size to become bigger and bigger in the future.

Out of its 162 million people, some 60 percent or over 97 million are considered to have an existence above the internationally defined poverty line. Even a number of important European Union (EU) countries do not have a combined market size of 97 million which should give an idea of the present business opportunities in Bangladesh or the reasons why international telecommunication giants and other consumer goods producers are so keen to expand their activities in Bangladesh."

"Japanese Ambassador to Viet Nam Mitsuo Sakaba has urged Ho Chi Minh City to accelerate progress of projects funded by Japanese Official Development Aid to ensure they are completed on schedule. These include the East-West Highway, the Water Environment Improvement, and Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien subway projects. He said the slower their implementation, the more capital is ultimately required.

The main cause for the slow progress is the increase in the prices of construction materials and the dong's depreciation against the yen, which has affected payment to contractors. Sakaba said Japan hadn't planned to invest in another metro route but asked HCM City authorities to support site clearance tasks for the first route. According to the plan, HCM City will have six metro routes totaling 110 kilometers."

"PRC's foreign exchange reserves reached $2.27 trillion by September 2009. There are two major challenges for China and its foreign exchange reserves: How to utilize the current amount and how to reduce the total to a reasonable level. In order to optimize the management of China's foreign exchange reserves, more private investment channels should be tapped. Domestic enterprises should also be motivated to seize the current opportunity to acquire or buy shares of important overseas companies with considerable resources.

Though acquiring overseas resources through a dominant share in stake is due to meet considerable political resistance, the nation could employ the joint-stock pattern to optimize the returns of resource price hikes driven by the economic recovery. Renminbi appreciation not only is conducive to reduce the level of foreign reserves but also could create pressure to promote the transition of export-oriented enterprises and get rid of the mindset of seeking cost competitiveness at the expense of product quality, environment, employees' basic rights and interests."

"The debate on agriculture has increasingly been on food and food prices, while the need to improve productivity of farm labor has remained on the backburner. Improved productivity would, of course, have to come either from more capital to work with or more investments in the labor force. The changes induced by the dynamics of economy and policy have similar, and sometimes quite the opposite, effects on agriculture.

Economic factors such as urbanization and growth of non-agricultural sectors, should, in theory, help move the excess supply of labor away from agriculture, especially if wage rates are the equilibrium force. If the transfers are rapid enough, these changes may set off a choice of technologies in agriculture that are less labor-intensive. But the rates of urbanization and industrialization have, so far, been quite modest."

"Indonesia's State-Owned Enterprises Ministry has revealed it would increase capital spending by state companies this year by 72 percent over last year in a bid to stimulate economic growth. The ministry said it would allocate Rp 184 trillion ($20.05 billion) of capital expenditure to its 138 companies, compared with Rp 107 trillion in 2009. That amount would represent 3.3 percent of gross domestic product, up from 2.8 percent last year.

The government has set a target of 5.5 percent economic growth for 2010, compared with last year's estimated growth rate of 4.3 percent. The government also expects net profit from the SOEs to rise by as much as Rp 90 trillion this year, an increase of about 21 percent from Rp 74.2 trillion in 2009. Much of this improvement is expected to come on the back of higher earnings from energy company PT Pertamina and state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara."

"Thailand is not doing enough to protect and promote its indigenous crops and resources. Thais have long prided themselves on being able to exclusively produce home-grown jasmine rice. But that may no longer be the case. Recently, an American university managed to register a new strain of the rice called 'Jazzman' rice. Although Thai agriculturalists say that the new American rice strain is of a lower quality than Thai jasmine rice, the Jazzman rice will be a competitor to Thai hom mali rice.

The yield for Jazzman rice is three times that of Thai jasmine rice. In addition, the name of the new strains is a play on words, and so some consumers may not be bothered about preferences if the pronunciation of one sounds almost the same as the other. This is not to suggest that we should cry foul over the emergence of new rice strains. In fact, if we lose our competitiveness, we are the ones to blame. We have neglected the research and development of rice for years."

"A priest is providing food security for some of the country's poorest thanks to two hectares of land donated by a Catholic landlord. The center is looking to provide cows, goats and carts to families so they can be self-sufficient, as well as a library and medical facilities for their other needs. Dimuthu was established in 2000. It has built community centers, run health services and ministered to people's spiritual needs.

The land of Joseph Vaz Village, which was thick jungle before it was cleared, was given to the center in 2004. The biggest problem the villagers face is lack of water. The only communal well in the village was built at a cost of $3,000 but it dries up when there is no rain. To wash, the villagers must walk more than a kilometer. Children also face a long journey to get to school on roads that are impassable during the wet season."

"Pakistan's external debt has been increasing for some years due to budgetary and balance-of-payment problems. The trend is likely to persist for another few years because the factors that compelled the government to borrow from external sources, especially the International Monetary Fund, have not altogether subsided in recent years. Foreign investment has almost dried up. Exports are falling. Energy shortages and slow demand growth are holding back an early revival of the economy.

A substantial increase in security expenditure on account of the war on terror and poor law and order remains a major source of the burden on the budget and has slowed growth. The debt servicing burden is also expected to stay at around the current level for another few years. However, the chances of the external debt becoming unsustainable in the foreseeable future are quite dim unless economic recovery is delayed."

"A government plan to allow foreign nationals to buy houses and condominiums in Indonesia would provide an important boost to the economy, likely more than tripling the property sector's contribution to 10 percent of GDP, industry players said. The housing minister last week said he planned to revise current regulations limiting ownership of property by foreign nationals by May or June.

The change would allow foreigners to buy and own condominiums in large cities such as Jakarta and houses in special economic zones such as Batam. Relaxing the laws on foreign ownership of property could provide local industry with an important stimulus."

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