"The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will seek to improve the 'quality' of its growth over the next 10 years so that the benefits of its economic integration efforts can be shared in the region, a draft of the APEC growth strategy shows. Under an action plan included in the draft, the Pacific Rim economies are expected to implement structural reforms that place priority on such areas as developing smaller businesses and enhancing opportunities for women.

To ensure the strategy's implementation, the draft stipulates that an interim report to the leaders be prepared in 2015 to evaluate progress, and a final report in 2020. Japan, as this year's chair of APEC, is taking the lead in drafting the growth strategy which the leaders agreed to formulate in a meeting in Singapore last year, the first such initiative for the forum since its launch in 1989."

"China is set to overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy. By some measures it has already moved to second place after the U.S. in total economic output. Exactly when China passes Japan formally will be unclear until after this year ends. It depends on shifting exchange rates and data reported in different forms by the two governments.

Chinese GDP in 2009 was $4.98 trillion and Japan's was $5.07 trillion. In 2010, Chinese GDP was $1.335 trillion for the April-June quarter - a period for which Tokyo has yet to report. China is growing at 10 percent a year, while Japan's expansion this year is forecast at no more than 3 percent. Japan's people still are among the world's richest, with a per capita income of $37,800 last year, compared with China's $3,600."

"The expected spread of food price inflation in India to more industrial categories has provoked a crescendo of calls for sharp monetary tightening. Such a response would be appropriate if excess demand were driving inflation. But the current high wholesale price index inflation follows prolonged cost shocks and a period of very low inflation. This low base overstates inflation.

Policy should rather reduce inflationary expectations without hurting the supply response. The supply response is especially important since India is in a catch-up growth phase. Investment is occurring to relieve specific bottlenecks. Continuing high investment implies there cannot be a large excess of demand over capacity."

"China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gas, continues to suffer the downsides of unbridled economic growth, despite many new environmental initiatives. The quality of air in Chinese cities is increasingly tainted by coal-burning power plants, grit from construction sites and exhaust fumes from millions of new cars on crowded roads, according to a government study issued last week.

Other new figures show a jump in industrial accidents and an epidemic of pollution in waterways. The report's most unexpected findings pointed to an increase in inhalable particulates in cities such as Beijing, where officials have struggled to improve air quality by shutting down noxious factories and tightening vehicle emissions standards. The report also found that more than a quarter of the country's rivers, lakes and streams were too contaminated to be used for drinking."

"An Indian company with rich American backers is about to raise up to $350 million in a stock offering closely watched by philanthropists around the world, showing that big profits can be made from small helping-hand loans to poor cowherds and basket weavers. The company, SKS Microfinance, is one of the biggest players in the field known as microfinance, which involves loans, often as small as $20, that banks might consider too tiny and risky to bother with.

SKS Microfinance is not the first microlender to go public, and there has long been debate over whether social enterprises should be turned into giant commercial operations. Proponents of commercial microfinancing say the money raised can provide even more loans to the needy than relying only on charitable donations."

"Small and medium sized businesses in Vietnam are the most confident in the Asia region regarding national economic growth, according to a new report. For the first time since the financial crisis, all Asian markets hold a positive outlook in terms of local economic growth and recruitment.

Singapore, mainland China and India followed behind Vietnam. Over two thirds of the respondents in Vietnam believed the national economy would improve while just 7 percent expected growth to slow in the next six months, said the report, adding the rest believed growth would stay the same."

"A cabinet meeting held late last week approved a proposal for formation of the company, titled, Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund Ltd., as a special purpose vehicle to finance infrastructure projects in the country. The government would be providing paid up capital in full and hold a 100 percent stake in the company. The government, however, would try to attract local and foreign investments through issuance of bonds and debt instruments and equity offering.

The importance of infrastructure for sustained economic growth and improving the living conditions of millions of people does not need any elaboration. The main reason for infrastructure-related shortcomings is highly insufficient investment. The Asian economies that have been successful in achieving enviable economic growth have made substantial capital investment in infrastructures. But the annual capital investment in infrastructures in Bangladesh compared to its GDP has been extremely low."

"Phnom Penh Autonomous Port is to quadruple its loading capacity in the next two years after securing $68 million worth of Chinese financing for a second terminal 25 kilometres east of the capital, with construction slated to begin in September. The second terminal would give Phnom Penh a loading capacity of about 300,000 TEU containers per year, a dramatic increase from the current limit of 60,000 to 80,000 TEUs per year.

The current port, first established in 1952 and renovated twice so far, has seen demand increase. If capacity is not boosted, goods shipments would inevitably face delays and obstruction."

"As China encourages a re-balancing of the economy towards more domestic consumption, companies are finding subtleties of selling in China that will shape the way forward for foreign manufacturers doing business here. Gone are the days when a manufacturer would only sell within a region, now the focus is on getting goods to China's massive rural population.

Sales potential in rural areas is more attractive to manufacturers because its has been boosted by the government's stimulus plan. The Ministry of Commerce raised the upper price limit for subsidies in purchasing higher-end products for farmers to get them to spend more on higher quality and efficient equipment. This is driving the rural economy forward, and should be a sales opportunity for foreign investors to consider if they are serious about selling in China."

"Chittagong port, handling nearly 90 percent of Bangladesh's export and import cargo, is the most important gateway for external trade. The 14 percent growth of the volume of business at Chittagong port per annum is expected to shoot up rapidly. Only by running it efficiently and cutting down on handling time can better earnings of the country's export trade be achieved.

According to a recent media report, the country's external trade is facing losses worth at least $5 million a month due to imposition of congestion surcharges. The stay of ships at the port increased again to 4-5 days in June. The good days of Chittagong port could be over soon if policy planners do not immediately realize the importance of taking hard steps to further raise efficiency in cargo handling."

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