Vietnam’s capital city is, in many ways, the perfect setting for this year’s Asian Development Bank annual governors’ meeting. The Hanoi meetings may well be the busiest on record for the ADB, amid expectations of a record turnout of policymakers, academics, finance professionals and other delegates. Although still small in global terms, Vietnam’s economy is a microcosm of many of the issues facing the broader Asian region. The country is expanding rapidly, with GDP growth pegged at 6.8% last year, domestic consumption is soaring, exports are...Read more
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Following a rebound in economic growth, Asia is better placed than ever to play a leading role in the global economy. In an exclusive interview with IFR Asia, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda has called for Asian countries to show more responsibility in addressing global issues, such as climate change and
After securing a capital increase in 2009, the ADB has stepped up its efforts to streamline its business and cut down bureaucracy. The challenge, however, is to manage the bank’s expansion without increasing risks, says ADB managing director general Rajat Nag.
The integration of Asia’s financial sector has not progressed at the same pace as that of regional trade links, but a series of recent initiatives will address that shortcoming.
In the ADB’s estimate, US$800bn a year is needed to pay for infrastructure development across the region. While progress is being made, it is clear that the bank needs to leverage its own resources to make even a dent in that total.
Fast-growing Vietnam, host of this year’s ADB annual meeting, remains one of the region’s most unpredictable economies. While analysts believe in the country’s long-term prospects, some immediate challenges still need to be overcome.
Sudden spikes in the prices of key food items, from chillies in Indonesia to onions in India, have raised fears of a repeat of the 2008 food price crisis. While that appears unlikely, at least in the near term, rising prices only press home the vulnerability of Asia’s food chain.
The ADB’s newly established disaster response fund shows the bank’s growing focus on the impact of natural disasters. However, the scale of the challenges means the private sector also has an important role to play.