"There is definite consensus that urbanization will fuel PRC's fast economic growth in coming years. However, if Chinese policymakers really want urbanization to become the principal growth engine, they must do more to enrich and empower farmers who have emigrated to cities in search of better prospects. A report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has revealed that China's urban population touched 620 million last year, accounting for 46 percent of the country's total. Moreover, it is projected to grow by 10 million a year in the next five years.

Given that Chinese farmers on average earn just one-third of what their urban cousins take home annually, it is easy to conclude that rapid urbanization will result in a substantial increase in the country's overall income levels, thereby incurring massive urban infrastructure investment."

"Sri Lanka has said it would invite outside investors into its $1.5 billion Hambantota port project, the keystone of a $6 billion post-war infrastructure revitalization drive. The invitation for external investment will coincide with the November opening of the port on Sri Lanka's southern coast, along an ancient 'Silk Road' trading route and one of the world's biggest East-West shipping lanes.

The port and its accompanying services represent the single largest investment option for foreign investors in Sri Lanka. One option that is not on the table for outside investors is the oil bunkering facility. Many have speculated China wants the right to use the site as part of its 'string of pearls' strategy to expand its influence and maintain energy security."

"In South Asia, Nepal has one of the highest potentials for growth in the export sector. It could potentially export many new products with comparative advantage, if the right constraints on promotion, production, and accumulation of capabilities of key products are timely addressed. The future of Nepal's export industry and the economy's potential to undergo structural transformation is not all that gloomy as has been portrayed by analysts.

Nepal ranks second in South Asia with a score of 0.4729, following India which has a score of 0.8590. The higher the score, the better the potential to undergo structural transformation. There is no need to resort to widespread import-curbing measures, especially of daily consumption goods. Exports can be increased if we could judiciously and decisively address non-economic constraints ailing the industrial sector."

"A decade ago, Indonesia could be dismissed as the sick man of Asia, but hard-won economic stability has put the world's fourth most populous country back on the global investment radar screen. For the first time since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis that hit South-East Asia's largest economy the hardest, Japan's rating agency upgraded Indonesian debt to investment grade this month.

'There are several things that make Indonesia attractive: It has political stability and it is the biggest market in South-East Asia with 240 million people, a growing middle class, and abundant natural resources,' said Fauzi Ichsan, chief economist for Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia. Indonesia's economy is expected to grow 6 percent this year, compared with 4.5 percent in 2009, the fastest in the world after China and India. Investment, both foreign and domestic, rose 40 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago."

"Instead of tinkering with labor policies to create more jobs, an expert from the University of the Philippines School of Economics (Upse) urged the Aquino administration to focus its efforts on improving the country's anemic economic growth in order to create more employment opportunities. Higher growth, he said, would only be achieved by increasing investments and by addressing other issues surrounding growth, such as taxation, public spending and infrastructure development.

In terms of levels of minimum wages relative to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita among developing and transition economies, the International Labor Organization in March 2009, showed that the minimum-wage-to-GDP ratio of the Philippines was 150 percent. Despite the relatively high minimum wage in the country, many of the poor do not benefit from it, he said, noting that 38 percent of nonagricultural workers and 78 percent of agriculture workers receive wages lower than the minimum wage."

"The rampant development of steel mills in Viet Nam, still continuing even as the industry tries to deal with a growing surplus, is wasting investment capital and will create huge environmental pollution problems, experts say. Viet Nam now houses 74 steel projects with a combined investment of nearly $22.2 billion in 30 cities and provinces.

Up to 65 steel mills have operated or been built since 2007, much higher than the 23 projects envisaged by a development plan for the industry approved by the government three years ago. The combined capacity of the 65 projects is nearly 35.3 million tons per annum, far exceeding the anticipated demand of 15 million tons of the product in 2015, and 20 million tons in 2020. Of the 65 steel projects, 32 have been licensed by local authorities without approval by the prime minister or negotiations with the Ministry of Industry and Trade."

"As swollen monsoon rivers and rising sea levels threaten to engulf more land across Bangladesh, NGOs are training thousands of farmers in traditional soil-less farming on water. Agriculture accounts for almost a quarter of Bangladesh's gross domestic product and provides work for 62 percent of the labor force.

Yet in a country frequently flooded and recognized as one of the most vulnerable to climate change, floating vegetable beds have become a fruitful farming alternative. Floating farms use beds made of water hyacinth, bamboo and other aquatic plants. The floating beds are anchored to prevent them from drifting out into larger bodies of water, and covered in netting to keep out ducks and other fowl that might eat the crops."

"A group appointed to assess the urban housing shortage in India has estimated that at the end of the 10th Five Year Plan (2007-08) the total housing shortage in the country stands at 24.71 million dwelling units. Out of this 21.78 million, or 88.14 percent, pertains to Economically Weaker Sections including Below Poverty Line households.

The government of India is currently implementing various new schemes for providing affordable housing to India's urban poor. A new scheme has been launched for providing interest subsidies to make the housing affordable for the poor. The scheme encourages poor sections to avail of loan facilities for the purposes of construction/acquisition of houses."

"The widening rich-poor gap in the Philippines is a major challenge for the Aquino administration. The net income of the top 1,000 corporations in the country rose from P116.4 billion ($2.592 billion) in 2001 to an average of P416.7 billion ($9.28 billion) annually in the period 2002-2008. On the other hand, workers have seen the smallest increase in their real wages; the minimum wage in NCR increased just P5 in real terms over the almost decade-long Arroyo term.

According to the research group, the past administration's failed economic policies have caused the country's broad income inequalities and poverty to grow even wider. The Aquino government is therefore urged to take steps to reverse these policies and arrest the unparalleled decline in the people's welfare and escalation of widespread poverty in the country."

"PRC's manufacturing grew at the slowest pace in 17 months in July as the government clamped down on property speculation and investment in energy-intensive and polluting factories. The Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51.2 from 52.1 in June. That was less than the median forecast of 51.4 in a survey of 15 economists. A reading above 50 shows an expansion.

While growth is cooling, China's full-year expansion may be as much as 9.5 percent, up from 9.1 percent in 2009. The current PMI was the lowest since China's manufacturing stopped contracting in March 2009. An output index fell to 52.7 from 55.8 in June."

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