"President Yudhoyono campaigned for re-election in July on a pledge to double spending on roads, rails and ports to $140 billion over the next five years, part of a push to deliver economic growth of at least 6.6 percent. He has a way to go. During his first five-year term, only 125 km of toll roads were built, compared with PRC's 4,719 km of toll roads last year alone.

Aging ports and railways add to the country's transport woes, while power cuts in urban areas crimp growth, the government's statistics agency says. Higher costs caused by inadequate transport may also threaten the country's position as the world's largest exporter of power-station coal and tin and the second-biggest exporter of palm oil."

"The Arroyo administration has set two-decade records in terms of some key macro fundamentals -- GDP growth, inflation, interest rates. Yet they've been premised on the resilience of consumer spending, which in turn has been fueled by remittances. The current government's push for call centers has yet to generate the employment numbers that overseas deployment has unfailingly produced.

The absence of an official labor deployment policy highlights the government's failure to generate ample and desirable jobs back home. Considering that the offshore employment that generates remittances is largely a coping mechanism by Filipino households who find no meaningful jobs at home, then the charge of having no dynamic domestic economy is tantamount to saying the country has no clear-cut nor consistent economic strategy."

"Per capita GDP in Sri Lanka has risen above $2000. This is double the figure that was four years ago. This is a commendable achievement. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded Sri Lanka to a middle-income status. The unfortunate situation is that while the international financial institutions and researchers applaud Sri Lanka for its recent economic performance local politicians and so-called experts predict doom.

It's not only the rise in GDP that is commendable. What is more commendable is that economic benefits have been distributed more equitably with the periphery getting a better share. This does not mean that everything is alright. It means that the economy is moving in the right direction, which is what matters most."

"The traditional policy dilemma of maintaining growth or reining in inflation has acquired a particularly sharp edge in India. Data released recently point to a rise in overall inflation. The argument that monetary policy measures have limited impact on inflation caused by supply side factors is valid to a large extent.

The current bout of inflation can be countered only by increasing the supply of food and other essential articles. So far, at least the Reserve Bank of India has not used its monetary weapons to curb inflation. But even supply side issues may aggravate the demand side factors. High food and petroleum prices may harden inflation expectations. A faster rate of growth will accentuate the policy dilemma of growth versus inflation."

"PRC's financial institutions channeled more than a quarter of the record 9.59 trillion yuan ($1.405 trillion) in new lending in 2009 into construction of basic infrastructure, the country's central bank said. Medium- to longer-term loans for basic infrastructure increased by 2.5 trillion yuan, or 26.1 percent of total loan growth, as part of a broader drive to finance government-backed investment and shore up economic growth.

Authorities have reportedly pressured major banks to curb lending for the rest of January, after figures showed 1.1 trillion yuan of new loans in the first two weeks of the year alone. In addition to infrastructure, bank lending also increased at a much faster pace for property investment and individual consumption."

"Thousands of patients in Viet Nam are suffering from a recent change in the country's health insurance policy. The government has traditionally paid all health costs for the poor, children under six years old, war veterans, orphans, those who contributed to the nation's fight for independence and several other groups. But the new Health Insurance Law changed all that.

On January 1 this year, several of these groups were required to begin paying 5-20 percent of their health fees. Statistics from Vietnam Social Insurance, which also oversees health insurance management, showed that around 15 million poor people used to receive free health care and another 15 million living near the poverty line only used to have to pay 50 percent of their insurance fees to receive full coverage."

"Thailand is set to benefit tremendously from the elimination of import duties on automobiles and parts under the Asean Free Trade Area scheme, industry leaders say. The 5 percent tax on automobiles and parts traded among the six founding Asean countries -- Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia -- was abolished on January 1, in a move toward turning Asean into a single market.

The liberalization of the auto and parts trade will not only help ASEAN manufacturers, but also draw investment into the region. With the tariff barrier lifted, it would not be surprising to see a particular product being manufactured in one country and exported to other countries within the region."

"Slowly but steadily a transformation of long term significance is taking place in the economy. Over the past several months, evidence suggests that India may well be on its way to becoming a global manufacturing hub. India, it seems has become an ideal place to be in for a host of manufacturing and technology players.

Nowhere is this trend more visible than in the automobile sector and its component industries. The task of building on the initial cost and skill advantage demands an active and consensual participation of various ministries working toward a common purpose of ramping up India's manufacturing capabilities with global benchmarks."

"Bankers in Indonesia have urged the central bank to listen to their views before proceeding with a proposal to spur corporate lending by abolishing the current reserve requirement. The central bank plans to abandon the reserve requirement, which mandates that all banks must place 7.5 percent of their deposits with Bank Indonesia. It would be replaced by a more flexible regime that would require lenders to maintain a loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) within a fixed range.

Industry experts said Bank Indonesia should consider the fact that the LDR is determined not just by lending but also by the level of deposits. The LDR calculation should also include loans that had been approved but not dispersed because banks should not be penalized if customers do not take up agreed credit. Bank Indonesia is eager to push credit growth beyond 20 percent this year and ensure that companies have ample access to credit. Last year lending grew by 10.7 percent, with some companies accusing banks of overly cautious policies."

"The government plans to turn Thailand into a full welfare state by 2017 and sets social welfare as a national agenda. The decision was reached during a meeting of the National Social Welfare Promotion Committee. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The meeting decided to make social welfare a national agenda with the goal to provide full social welfare to the people by 2017. The government will develop four social welfare systems -- public services, social security, social assistance and a system to help communities to have sustainable strength."

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