"The influx of money sent by migrants overseas is changing the way people in Nepal consume and invest. While consumption accounts for over 90 percent of GDP, gross domestic savings is equivalent to a mere 9.7 percent. Remittances are constantly pouring in, facilitating instant easy lending to a handful of sectors. But banks are eschewing lending to traditional employment-generating sectors.

Instead, money is channeled into construction, real estate, and import-consumption sectors. These sectors are referred to as 'unproductive' i.e. they do not absorb much labor for employment given the scale of domestic investment. Policymakers and the central bank must look for ways to manage the inflow of remittances, and encourage consumption and investment patterns that are consistent with long-term growth objectives."

"Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that the government would guarantee 50 percent of commercial bank lending to rice producers in a bid to increase Cambodia's exports of the grain to a million tons by 2015. He said borrowers would still have to repay loans, but the state would cover 50 percent of defaulters' payments.

Hun Sen said Cambodian farmers generally harvested only one crop of rice per year, with relatively low yields, but the industry has the potential to lift future production. The goal is to try and exceed domestic demand by as much as 4 million tons per year by 2015."

"PRC's e-commerce industry is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years, with the average annual growth rate surpassing 35 percent, a top government official. E-commerce sales volumes surged to 3.6 trillion yuan ($530 billion) last year. The Internet industry is changing from an entertainment-oriented approach to a more balanced structure offering diversified services.

There were 20,700 e-business websites in China as of June this year and more companies have started setting up online stores to cut costs and improve efficiency. The number of e-commerce websites is expected to reach 23,000 by the end of the year. More users are expected to use mobile e-commerce as it will gain ground soon."

"Textile industry players are putting investment plans on the backburner as disbursement of funds through the popular Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) has been frozen since end-June. This at a time when there are clear signs of a rebound in the global demand and competitors in countries such as Viet Nam and Bangladesh are stepping up production capacity.

Investments in the domestic textiles sector also helps Indian farmers as the industry consumes the majority of cotton produced in the country. TUFS has significantly helped in modernization and expansion of capacities in various segments of the textile and clothing industry. This, in turn, effectively assisted the efforts of the industry to expand production and export of textile products."

"Indonesia may increase capital spending by 28 percent next year as the government aims to build more bridges and roads to boost growth, President Yudhoyono said. The economy may expand 6.3 percent next year from 6 percent this year. Capital spending in the 2011 state budget may rise by Rp 26.6 trillion rupiah ($2.96 billion) to Rp 121.7 trillion next year.

Yudhoyono has pledged to double spending on infrastructure to $140 billion during his second and final five-year term to deliver average growth of 6.6 percent. During his first term, 125 kilometers of toll roads were built, compared with China's 4,719 kilometers of toll roads last year alone. New roads, seaports, and bridges may improve distribution of goods in the world's biggest archipelago. A higher infrastructure budget will help build, among other things, 14 new airports, 85 kilometers of railways and improve the capacity of 2,613 kilometers of roads."

"Remittances from Filipinos working abroad grew in the first half of the year, the Philippine central bank said, increasing 6.9 percent to $9.1 billion in the January to June period from $8.5 billion last year. In June alone, remittance flows peaked at $1.6 billion, reflecting a year-on-year expansion of 8.3 percent.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration indicated that workers classified as new hires with processed contracts and awaiting deployment rose by 13.5 percent to 212,700 in the first half from 187,338 last year. The central bank said the continued expansion in the number of bank branches, remittance centers and correspondent banks and tie-ups have resulted in the stronger presence of financial institutions abroad, which help capture a bigger share of the global remittance markets."

"The Bangladesh government is set to raise the rate of investment to 32 percent of GDP by 2015, from 24 percent, by ensuring infrastructure facilities and sufficient power supply. The plan envisages a sizable increase in infrastructure investment under the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative during the 2011-2015 period.

The plan targets about 2 percent of GDP in PPP-related investment in the first year, and raising it to 6 percent by 2015. Focusing on PPP in power generation, $9.5 billion is expected in investments to generate a targeted 9,426 MW of additional electricity by 2015."

"Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) report signs of progress in their efforts to enhance rice's photosynthetic efficiency to boost yields. If successful, global yields could rise by as much as 50 percent, avoiding potential rice shortages, or even future famines, specialists say.

According to IRRI, a global population increase of some two billion people by 2050 will require an extra 250 million metric tons of rice in Asia alone. C4 plants -- such as maize and sorghum -- use a much more efficient photosynthesis process than rice (a C3 plant), produce a higher yield and use 1.5-3 times less water."

"Ten years ago, the manufacturing sector consumed 40 percent of Viet Nam's total electricity output. Manufacturing sector demand rose to 51.65 percent of supply in the first six months of 2010. Some people may call this good news, data that shows that the construction and industry sectors in the national economy have developed strongly. In fact, however, the construction and industry sectors account for only 42.6 percent of the added value of GDP, and raise big questions about the efficiency of their energy use.

Over the last decade, the growth rate of electricity consumption in Viet Nam has always outpaced the growth rate of the value of industrial production. By the end of 2009, 65 steel projects had been licensed, with a projected output of more than 35 million tons each year. However, it is estimated that the domestic demand for steel of all kinds will only reach 15 million tons by 2015 and 20 million tons in 2020."

"The Bangladesh government has reportedly prepared the groundwork for the construction of a seaport at Kuakata. This third port is envisioned to offer India, Nepal and Bhutan shipment facilities after transiting their goods through Bangladesh territory. Construction of a new seaport can produce the desired results only when it is not plagued by strident trade unionism and resistance to modernization that invariably leads to job cuts.

The business is highly competitive as shipping companies look for safe ports where quick service delivery is guaranteed. Bangladesh's ports have lost a lot ground to their competitors recently. Improvement in this area is badly needed to make the most out of constructing another port."

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