The humble letter of credit is the grease that keeps the wheels of intraregional commerce spinning. Small to medium sized firms have found themselves without access to this credit, which has threatened their ability to trade, which has exacerbated an already difficult recession in global export markets. The ADB has filled the void left by the region’s cash-strapped, newly credit cautious commercial banks. Fortuitously, the G20 summit in early April announced a plan to triple the ADB’s committed

Perhaps acknowledging the fact that corruption is rife in some of the poorest parts of the world, which present the lowest ability to supervise and the greatest incentive for such practices, the ADB has taken some far-reaching initiatives in the past couple of years. Among them is the Second Governance and Anticorruption Action Plan (GACAP II), a joint initiative with OECD, which aims to harmonise approaches and share good governance practices. The plan was approved in 2006 and aims to improve t

While great attention is being paid to the economic costs of the global recession, less attention is being focused on its political implications, and how economic and political events feed upon each other. With economic indicators throughout the region having fallen off a cliff, some of Asia’s largest and most important countries could experience profound political impact. South Korean industrial production declined 29% the last two months of 2008 and GDP is expected to be –3% in 2009, represent

What is the reason for your enthusiasm about the ADB? Asia has experienced very, very impressive growth. This is a region of hope. This is a region, which has seen very, very significant progress in its fight against poverty. In 1990, one in every three Asians was poor, earning less than a dollar a day. In 2005, that number had come down to one in every five. If I have to give you one statistic, that is it. Asia has done very well in its fight against poverty. That is on the plus side. One the n

Anti-corruption measures and steps to counter fraud are expected to be more vigorously pursued as an uptick in lending by development finance agencies to regional economies increases the risks of the incidence of misappropriation. Among the steps the ADB is taking to counter these incidents is a review of its approach to investigations into corruption relating to ADB-financed projects. In the aftermath of the global financial turmoil, international financial institutions (IFI) have begun to play

For most of us, flipping a switch to illuminate our homes in the evening, or turning a dial to fire up our stoves are habits we take for granted. But for many people across the Asia-Pacific region, these routine acts are luxuries. Despite the rapid economic growth the region has enjoyed over the past two decades, there are still nearly 1bn people in Asia and the Pacific who lack access to electricity, and 1.8bn people who rely on firewood, using traditional stoves to meet their cooking and heati

Only two years ago, almost US$1trn in foreign direct investment (FDI) poured into developing countries. The Institute for International Finance predicts that net capital flows to the developing world will drop to about US$160bn this year, while net lending from commercial banks is likely to be negative. Risk aversion is at the heart of the matter. Developing countries’ perceived risk has risen in tandem with the rise of the global economic recession, even though the epicentre of the crisis (this

How would you describe the past year? These are interesting times. It is not clear at his moment how this global financial crisis is impacting us. There is great uncertainty and human suffering in many developing countries. The ADB has been making its best efforts to provide substantial assistance, technical assistance, policy advice to every developing country in the region. But still, I must say that this year is one of the most difficult years for many developing member countries in Asia. The

Those estimates take into account the impact of currency depreciations, the decline in stock prices, the loss of value of private and public debt and the effect of depreciation on deposits. Asian countries have put in place various stimulus measures in an effort to offset the downturn. China has been the biggest spender, having announced a US$586bn stimulus package over a two-year period, according to the ADB. That represents around 7.1% of GDP. Other countries in Asia have also announced signif

Another year, another long-term strategic blueprint-style plan for the Asian Development Bank. This year, however, the bank’s planning is underpinned by sizeable increase to its resources. The ADB board has approved a tripling of the bank’s capital base, to US$165bn (its first increase in 14 years). The bank is also facing the prospect of genuine social and humanitarian crisis in the region if the global recession deepens much further. At last year’s annual conference the ADB made a point of de-