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This report shows how smart trade and investment policies, and regulatory cooperation in the Asia and Pacific region can help economies tackle climate change, recover from the pandemic, and support resilient and sustainable development. Analyzing topics including global value chains, investment, the movement of people, and regional cooperation initiatives, it outlines the economic and environmental challenges the region currently faces. It explores how trade and investment policies can support climate action and highlights why a joined-up approach is essential to help deepen the digital economy, strengthen supply chains and foster greener businesses, markets, and trade.

This report analyzes how the pandemic has impacted investment in infrastructure in Southeast Asia and assesses how infrastructure development can help drive economic recovery and support sustainable growth. Calculating $1.7 trillion will be spent each year on infrastructure in Asia, the report shows how the pandemic hit public financing and altered investor appetites. It highlights the growing need for public-private partnerships and outlines financing models, risks, and trends. It recommends governments create an enabling environment to mitigate investor risk, conduct feasibility studies, and build a pipeline of bankable projects to help finance the infrastructure they need for a resilient future.

This guidebook provides practical tips and resources for conducting quality socioeconomic surveys to enhance the effectiveness of urban development and water projects. It explains the importance of high-quality socioeconomic surveys to strengthen project design, ensure robust due diligence, and inform evidence-based policies. Focusing on urban development and water projects, the guidebook discusses common mistakes made with socioeconomic surveys and provides good practices for implementing high quality face-to-face and digital surveys. It includes a standardized set of annotated questionnaires that consist of basic questions as well as expanded questions that enable a more robust understanding of project impacts.

This guidance note provides a comprehensive overview of medical oxygen production, distribution, and use in Asia and the Pacific region, and explores how to improve systems over the medium and long term. It explains why surges in medical oxygen demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated deficiencies in oxygen systems. It highlights how greater coordination among stakeholders to plan and procure oxygen on a larger scale, improve equipment, and better train staff can dramatically benefit health systems and improve patient care.

Under Strategy 2030, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committed to state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform in its developing member countries (DMCs). The publication reviews the significance of SOEs in Asia and the Pacific, the role of SOE reform in ADB's strategy, and related requirements for nonsovereign and One ADB projects. Nonsovereign financing for SOEs can help reduce the burden of sovereign debt and mobilize new funding for vital investments, including climate change mitigation. Designed to guide ADB staff in their work with SOEs through sovereign projects, policy-based loans, and technical assistance, this publication may also be of use to DMC officials and SOE boards and management.

This publication explores how Viet Nam can improve the safety of its fruit and vegetables, including through production and postharvest handling, value chain development, and a stronger food safety management system. The publication draws on the results of safety tests, a stakeholder survey, and a literature review. It notes that building confidence in safe fruit and vegetables would encourage consumers to eat more of them, boosting people's health and producers' livelihoods. Its recommendations include expanding producers' cooperatives and designated safe vegetable production areas, using incentives and controls to drive down chemical pesticide misuse, and publishing the results of regular testing.

This publication explores how digitalization is shaking up the finance industry in ASEAN+3 economies, outlines risks and opportunities, and suggests ways of protecting regional financial stability. The ASEAN+3 region-members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus the People's Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea-is a global leader in digital financial services. Amid accelerating digitalization and expanding cross-border banking and payments, this publication emphasizes the need for collaboration and explores how governments can reduce risk and build regional safety nets.

To assure financial and environmental sustainability for Indonesia's power sector, this report proposes restructuring PLN, the country's State Electricity Corporation, and details innovative reforms for stronger governance and regulation. As Indonesia's power sector must resolve major issues of slow decarbonization, financial viability, and unreliable supply, this report presents a comprehensive vision for its reform. Reviewing international approaches to electric utility restructuring, the study analyzes challenges facing the country's power sector, explores options for restructuring PLN, and identifies an optimal framework. Proposing steps to achieve this reformed structure, the report recommends a new revenue model for PLN based on proven international practice.

This publication analyzes how Uzbekistan can overhaul its technical and vocational education and training to build the digitally literate, skilled workforce needed to drive business and boost the economy. It offers a rundown of Uzbekistan's education system and explores how to incorporate technical skills while making the existing workforce more digitally proficient. It discusses how closer private sector ties would make training more relevant. Highlighting the need for comprehensive data on labor market needs, it outlines steps including updating curriculums, increasing training for vulnerable groups, and boosting entrepreneur support, to equip people with skills for the jobs of the future.

In this report, ADB has lowered its forecasts for economic growth in developing Asia and the Pacific to 4.3% in 2022 and 4.9% in 2023, amid mounting challenges. Its theme chapter looks at how digital entrepreneurship spurs growth and innovation. The region's economy is expected to grow 4.3% this year, compared with ADB's projection in April of a 5.2% expansion, while the growth forecast for next year is lowered to 4.9% from 5.3%. The downward revisions have been driven by increased monetary tightening by central banks, fallout from the protracted Russian invasion of Ukraine, and recurrent COVID-19 lockdowns in the People's Republic of China. Inflation in developing Asia this year is likely to reach 4.5%, up from ADB's earlier projection of 3.7%. The forecast for 2023 is 4.0%, up from 3.1%. While inflation in the region remains lower than elsewhere, supply disruptions continue to push up food and fuel prices.The report's theme chapter looks at the role of entrepreneurship in achieving inclusive growth, and how governments in the region can create a more enabling environment for digital entrepreneurs.

This study analyzes the exposure of energy and transport assets in Asia and the Pacific to climate change and earthquake hazards and highlights how multi-hazard assessment can help strengthen the resilience of crucial infrastructure. Geolocating and undertaking a multi-hazard assessment of more than 30,000 infrastructure assets, the study identifies significant risks across the region with three-quarters of the assets exposed to four or more hazards. It notes that multi-hazard assessment and an understanding of the potential impacts of these hazards need to be systematically integrated into the planning, design, and financing of infrastructure upgrades and maintenance.

To promote smoother flows of goods across borders while reducing trade costs, this report explores an integrated approach to facilitating trade and transport across Asia and the Pacific, for better engagement in value chains. The report examines the current state of trade and transport facilitation, analyzes gaps in the available guidance, and provides strategic recommendations. It includes a framework for the assessment of trade readiness at national and subnational levels and illustrates its implementation through case studies of Cambodia and Thailand. The report aims to help governments boost the region's recovery from COVID-19 disruption by making cross-border trading and transport arrangements more efficient and more sustainable, inclusive, and equitable.

Including beneficiaries' personal stories, this report shows how the Asian Development Bank has worked with the Government of Bangladesh to improve urban lives by creating healthier environments with better, more inclusive governance. Since 2002, the Asian Development Bank has worked with the Government of Bangladesh on expanding the Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement Project (UGIIP), to revitalize 96 of the country's 328 important secondary towns-pourashavas. Advancing Bangladesh's urban development through performance-based infrastructure financing for pourashavas improving their governance, UGIIP has transformed individual lives and whole communities-with livelihood training, inclusive organizations for better civic management, and new infrastructure creating healthier, sustainable environments for vulnerable residents.

This report outlines nontariff barriers to trade between BISMSTEC subregion countries and shows how a structured approach centered on boosting compliance, harnessing technology, and improving infrastructure can bolster intraregional trade. It gives a run-down of the trade infrastructure and regulations of each member country-Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal-outlines the constraints each faces and details progress made to date. Explaining how the region is recovering from the pandemic, it shows how factors such as faster clearing, stronger mutual agreements, and greater automation can streamline trade between the countries and spur economic growth.

This publication shares findings on how to better estimate the impact of development assistance on job creation. It shares findings from a study that used input-output and computable general equilibrium models to customize estimation methods to improve jobs impact assessments. The study used 2010-2019 data on Asian Development Bank operations in Fiji, Indonesia, and Thailand. Its findings suggest that simpler input-output models may best suit projects that support substantial local purchases of non-construction capital goods and services. More comprehensive and data-intensive computable general equilibrium models can help capture the broad impact of programmatic policy support and large-scale projects.

This report assesses how Bangladesh is cutting gaps in gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in financial services and shows how support for women entrepreneurs alongside better technology access can boost sustainable development. It explains the rapid growth of Bangladesh's financial sector, analyzes policies, and explores how the rise of mobile financial services is improving inclusion for women and vulnerable groups. Outlining steps including better access to cheap mobile phones and internet, it shows how increasing credit to women-owned small businesses and targeting insurance products can help mainstream GESI and incorporate it into the design and implementation of ADB-funded projects.

This report assesses social protection measures in Asia, shows how they help tackle crises such COVID-19 and climate change, and outlines the need for more inclusive, shock-responsive policies to cut poverty and spur equitable development. Centered around ADB's Social Protection Indicator, it assesses data from 26 economies to show how measures are evolving to provide increased support and opportunities for the poor, women, and people with disabilities. Explaining why the pandemic made many more vulnerable, it shows how harnessing digital technology can help promote gender equality and increase the resilience of the region's poor as new risks and stressors loom.

This report shows how countries in the BIMSTEC subregion can work together to rebuild their pandemic-battered travel industries and create intraregional thematic tour packages to boost visitor numbers and support sustainable development.It lays out comprehensive action plans involving each member country-Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand-and highlights the potential of cross-border tourism circuits based on themes such as wildlife, trekking, or religion. It explains the potential to grow intraregional tourism, use public-private partnerships, and harmonize infrastructure, connectivity, and marketing to develop seamless travel between member countries and fast-track their economic recovery.

This report analyzes future energy market options for Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program members to help facilitate sustainable energy infrastructure investment.The report provides forecasts at individual country and regional levels. It aims to equip investors and policy makers with insights on regional trends to help identify potential investment opportunities that will improve energy services and reduce carbon emissions across CAREC countries. It includes energy supply and demand scenarios, assessments of innovative technologies, estimates of investment needs in the energy sector, and possible trajectories for carbon emissions.

This report summarizes insights on transparency and integrity in sustainable finance markets shared at a series of webinars hosted by the Asian Development Bank and State Street Global Advisors. The report provides an overview of policy and market practice to enhance transparency, integrity, and efficiency in sustainable finance and to foster the market's development. It discusses efforts to align taxonomies and standards; support transition finance; adapt to the trend toward environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments; and implement information disclosure and integrity requirements.

This publication examines beneficial ownership transparency in nine countries in Asia and the Pacific and explains how overcoming hurdles to ensure the full disclosure of company ownership is key to cracking down on crime and corruption. Focusing on countries including Armenia, Mongolia, and the Philippines, it offers a breakdown of relevant international standards and details challenges related to accurate data verification, collection, and disclosure. It highlights best practices, provides practical recommendations, and shows why a multipronged approach to cross-checking ownership information can help reduce money laundering, terrorism financing, tax evasion, and other economic crimes.

This strategy outlines a regional approach for advancing gender equality and women's empowerment in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).The six GMS countries share common challenges and issues that prevent women from fully benefiting from economic opportunities. Many of these challenges have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy identifies strategic directions and key entry points to mainstream gender across all operational areas of the GMS Economic Cooperation Program. It has been designed to add value to the GMS Program Strategic Framework 2030 and to complement national initiatives of the GMS countries to bolster gender equality.