Manila 2012 final day focuses on India, LatAm

Manila, Philippines - India, which is considered to be the next emerging Asian economic powerhouse after China, gets the focus on the last day of the ongoing Asian Development Bank (ADB) 45th Annual Governors Meeting.

The seminar on “India Inclusive: Emerging Global Investment Destination” will feature Rajarangamani Gopalan, secretary, Economic Affairs; Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman, State Bank of India (SBI); and Dr. Rajiv B. Lal, CEO & MD, Infrastructure Development Finance Co. Ltd. The India Seminar is from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the San Miguel Hall of the PICC.

Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), Department of Economic Affairs of India will moderate the discussions focusing on the prospects of the current second fastest growing economy in Asia.

At 11 a.m., the Asia-Latin America Council (LAC) then sponsors a seminar at the San Miguel Hall called “Asia – Latin America: Forging a Long-Term Partnership” – a dialogue featuring ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda and Inter-American Development Bank president Luis Alberto Moreno (IADB) on regional perspectives on economic growth and the burgeoning economic and cooperation ties between Asia and LAC.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have prepared a joint study on key developments in inter-regional trade, investment, regulatory frameworks, as well as technical and political cooperation between the two regions. The study is one of several joint initiatives that IADB and ADB hope will strengthen institutional collaboration in support of the increasing patterns of south-south cooperation. Copies of the joint report will be distributed at the seminar.

“New Opportunities for Growth in Asia” will be another seminar at the conclusion of the four-day event that will be held from 12:15 pm to 2 pm at the Meeting Rooms 2 and 3 of the PICC.

The seminar, sponsored by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), will seek to address the changing global regulatory regime and the internationalization of the renminbi which are two of the most prominent developments confronting policy makers and market participants in Asia.

The renminbi is underrepresented in world trade and investment, but the large and rising importance of China in the global economy suggests that the offshore yuan business has tremendous potential. The surge in offshore yuan deposits in Hong Kong and the quick acceptance of the internationalization of the currency have far-reaching implications for China, the region and the rest of the world.

Speakers in the seminar include Spencer Lake, Co-Head of Global Markets, HSBC; Julia F.Y. Leung, Undersecretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Hong Kong SAR; Bandid Nijathaworn, Chairman, Thai Bond Markets Association; and Hung Tran, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets and Emerging Markets Policy Department, IIF.

Global software giant Microsoft will also hold a concurrent seminar on “Information and Communications Technology: Accelerating Economic Growth and Good Governance in Asia” at Meeting Room 5 of the PICC from 12:30 pm to 2 pm.

In the session’s keynote address, Frank McCosker, Microsoft’s Global Managing Director for Global Strategic Accounts, will illustrate how new technologies are changing the game in economic development. Innovations such as television spectrum white space for transmitting data is rapidly enabling accelerated rural connectivity and access to the poor, market integration, good governance, inclusive growth and greater participation by the private sector.

In the second keynote, Ken Wye Saw, VP Asia Public Sector, will discuss mobilizing financial and intellectual capital to incubate economic growth that drives the development of Local Software Economies, and Cloud Computing as new areas of opportunity.

Philippine talk show host Ms. Pia Hontiveros will be the moderator of the discussions.

Other speakers for the event include Hasanal Haq Inu, Member of Bangladesh Parliament, Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications; Frank McCosker, Microsoft Global GM, International Solutions; Luis Moreno, President, Inter American Development Bank; Gisli Olafsson, Global Disaster Response Director, Net Hope; Ken Wye Saw, Regional VP, Microsoft Public Sector; Philippines Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman; and Woochong Um, Director General, RSDD, ADB.

The ADB, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is also jointly sponsoring a seminar on “Reforming International Financial Safety Nets” from 2 pm to 3:30 pm at the BDO Hall to explore a key question about the need for the international financial system to be reorganized to guarantee adequate international liquidity.

A “Development Partners Session – Development Cooperation in a Changing World” scheduled to close the curtains for the ADB Governors’ Meeting will be held from 4 pm to 5:30 pm at the SM Hall and will bring together a group of distinguished representatives of development partners to discuss and share their views on what a changing world implies for development cooperation in Asia.

Among others, the session will focus on the the role of finance and knowledge sharing in development cooperation; ways to mobilize and allocate aid resources for better development effectiveness; achieving cooperation and coordination between development partners at strategic-policy and project levels; defining the role of triangular and South-South cooperation; and crafting the architecture of global development governance.

Developing Asia remains home to two thirds of the world’s poor. Many of the region’s social indicators show persistent and widespread non-income poverty such as hunger and malnutrition, poor health and illiteracy, and lack of access to basic sanitation and electricity. While Asia’s overall performance towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been positive, it is lagging behind some crucial targets. The discussions will highlight the emerging challenge on the rising income inequality both within and across countries.