ADB head appeals to private sector

The private sector plays a critical role in promoting economic growth in developing Asia, Asian Development Bank (ADB) president Tadao Chino told an investment forum recently. "A major challenge is to improve the environment required by the private sector to take advantage of new economic opportunities resulting from trade liberalization and the opening of regional markets," Chino said in the opening statement.

The forum aims to enhance foreign direct investment in new member countries of ASEAN – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam. The four are also members of the six-nation Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS countries) Economic Cooperation Program. The program, which also includes Yunnan Province of People’s Republic of China, and Thailand, was initiated in 1992 with ADB assistance.

Chino said that the Asia and Pacific region is home to two-thirds of the world’s poor. In the GMS, poverty continues to be a key development challenge with two thirds of the 260 million people in the sub-region surviving on less than $2 a day.

One of the most important goals of the GMS economic program is to develop a dynamic private sector for sustainable economic growth. Leaders of the GMS reaffirmed their commitment to creating a more favorable trade and investment climate to foster private sector participation.

The Investment Forum is organized by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the International Chamber of Commerce.