ADB

NEWS FROM THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK June 2010

ADB Prices $3 Billion ADB TRANSPORT FORUM

Global Bond Issue Michelle Yeoh Puts Spotlight on
Asia’s High Road Accident Rate
A
DB returned to the US dollar bond market in
May with the pricing of a $3 billion 3-year global

A
benchmark bond issue, proceeds of which will be DB and Global Ambassador
part of ADB’s ordinary capital resources and used in its for the “Make Roads Safe”
nonconcessional operations. campaign Michelle Yeoh have
The bonds, with a coupon rate of 1.625% per annum jointly called for governments to
payable semiannually and a maturity date of 15 July 2013, support transport solutions that will
were priced at 99.626% to yield 46 basis points over the reduce the high rate of deaths and
1.375% US Treasury notes due May 2013. injury caused by road accidents in Asia
The transaction was lead-managed by Daiwa Capital and the Pacific.
Markets, Goldman Sachs International, Morgan Stanley, “Every year some 1.18 million
and UBS Investment Bank. A syndicate group was also people globally are victims of fatal
formed consisting of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP road accidents, and 60% of all road
(Continued on page 3)
accidents occur here in Asia and the
Pacific,” said ADB’s Vice-President
for Knowledge Management and

Biggs Javellana
Emerging Asia Should be Sustainable Development Ursula
Schaefer-Preuss.
Ready to Act on Potentially “Equally notable is how this issue
impacts the poor, who suffer gravely In her role as ambassador for the “Make
Destabilizing Capital Inflows from unsafe roads, while remaining
marginalized by transport policies that
Roads Safe” campaign, Michelle Yeoh, an
award-winning actress, advocates for road
are biased in favor of private vehicles,” injury to be recognized as a global public
health and development priority.

G
overnments in emerging Asia should stay on guard she added in a transport forum in May.
and be ready to act if volatile capital inflows threaten In her role as ambassador for the
to destabilize the region’s financial markets, says a “Make Roads Safe” campaign, Ms. Yeoh, and injury, but we also have innovative
new report from ADB. an award-winning actress, advocates for Asian road safety solutions such as the
Emerging Asia’s capital markets have posted rapid road injury to be recognized as a global International Road Assessment Pro-
gains as economic recovery in the region has gathered pace, public health and development priority. gramme, which is transforming the way
drawing massive investment from overseas. The impact of She was at ADB headquarters in Manila we understand safe road design, and the
the escalating debt problems in Europe has been limited. to participate in a 3-day transport forum Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative,” Ms.
However, economies and markets face a number of other where leading experts from around the Yeoh said. “There is so much we can do
risks with inflation, though manageable, edging up and world discussed crucial issues in the to save lives on our roads.”
as governments prepare exit strategies from economic transport sector in Asia and the Pacific. ADB has developed a new para-
stimulus packages. “The Asia and the Pacific region digm for sustainable urban transport
(Continued on page 3) is facing an epidemic of road death that offers the prospect of a more
(Continued on page 2)

What's Inside IN THIS ISSUE

NEWS Perceptions Survey: ADB Delivers Development Results 2 World Customs, ADB Boost
Partnership for Trade Facilitation 3 SPEECH Developing Asia's Emerging Middle
ADB Helps Put Tajikistan’s Class: Issues and Opportunities 4 FEATURE ADB Helps Put Tajikistan's Switchyards

Switchyards on Solid Footing
ADB support helps save a sinking switchyard, and keeps energy
flowing to Tajikistan's emerging businesses. Read the story on
page 6.
on Solid Footing 6 PROJECT NEWS ADB President Inaugurates Rail Line Linking
Afghanistan to Central Asia 7 ADB, Afghan Government Discuss Infrastructure
Projects 7 ADB, Japan to Support India's Women Microentrepreneurs 8 ADB
Signs First Trade Finance Agreements in Uzbekistan 8 REGULAR SECTIONS
Opportunities 9 Publications 10
NEWS

Perceptions Survey
ADB Delivers Development Results
A
DB has made a positive impact on
the lives of the poor in Asia and the
Pacific, and is considered a trusted
development partner by its member countries,
says a new independent perceptions survey
commissioned by the organization.
The survey—conducted with 900 stake-
holders in 31 member countries late last
year—shows that the overwhelming majority of
respondents think ADB is helping its member
countries meet their development goals
and objectives. Many of those interviewed
described ADB as a trusted, reliable, and
competent organization with excellent
knowledge of the region.
On its core mission of reducing pov-
erty, a majority of stakeholders rated ADB’s
performance as either good or excellent. It
also received high marks for improving infra-
structure and supporting regional economic
cooperation and integration. Positive feedback
was given on the technical skills of ADB staff
and their understanding of the countries
where they work.
Respondents also cited some weaknesses
that ADB will need to improve on, including
perceptions that it is bureaucratic and lacks
speed in decision-making and project execution
and monitoring. Promotion of gender equality
and governance were also identified as areas
where ADB will have to do more work.
“The survey findings provide us with
invaluable insights into how we can better
serve our clients and achieve the development
goals of our long-term strategic framework,
Strategy 2020,” said ADB President Haruhiko
Kuroda.
ADB commissioned a professional polling
firm to seek feedback from partners and
opinion leaders about key development
issues in Asia and ADB’s role in fighting
poverty. The latest poll, which follows a
baseline survey conducted in 2006, included
randomly selected stakeholders in govern-
ment, development partners, the private
sector, civil society, media, and academia.
Respondents were required to have a basic
knowledge of ADB to take part. 
The survey findings provide us with invaluable
insights into how we can better serve our clients
and achieve the development goals of our long-
term strategic framework, Strategy 2020
Haruhiko Kuroda
ADB President

Michelle Yeoh Puts Spotlight… (Continued from page 1)

effective management of the region’s cities

over the coming years. The strategy includes a
strong push for a people-focused “avoid-shift-
improve” approach that promotes accessibil-
ity instead of mobility and manages demand
for travel to supply instead of build more
infrastructure for the seemingly unstoppable
growth in the number of private vehicles.
This involves developing an efficient land-
use and transport system to help city dwellers
avoid motor transport; a shift toward energy-
efficient modes of travel, particularly public
transport; and measures to improve vehicle
and fuel technologies.
ADB also signed a memorandum of un-
Biggs Javellana

derstanding with the FIA Foundation for the

Automobile and Society to promote safe and
sustainable transport in Asia and the Pacific.
Among the planned joint activities will be
“helmet vaccine” initiatives in ADB developing
member countries. 
ADB’s Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Ursula Schaefer-Preuss,
Global Ambassador for “Make Roads Safe” campaign Michelle Yeoh, and Principal Director Ann Quon of ADB’s
Department of External Relations field questions from the media at a press conference.

2 June 2010

Emerging Asia Should be Ready...(Continued from page 1)
The Asia Capital Markets Monitor ,
ADB’s annual assessment of the performance
and outlook for the region’s equity, bond and
currency markets, said managing the hefty
capital inflows into the region’s markets is
the key challenge.
Foreign investors have rushed back into
emerging Asian markets, attracted by the
region’s swift recovery from the global crisis,
a return of risk appetite, and very low returns
on assets in developed economies.
“While the return of capital flows is
welcome, surges in short-term capital inflows
could potentially leave countries vulnerable
to a sudden reversal in portfolio investment
and to sharp currency movements,” said
Srinivasa Madhur, senior director of ADB’s
Office of Regional Economic Integration,
which prepared the report.
“More broadly, the region is holding up
well in the face of the debt crisis in Greece and
its potential contagion effect,” he added.
Emerging Asian equities yielded a 73%
return in US dollar terms in 2009 while
the local currency bond issuance of $3.69
trillion was 41.4% higher than in 2008. The
hefty investment from overseas has put
significant upward pressure on the region’s
currencies.
Despite favorable cyclical developments,
the strong performance of emerging Asian
equities in 2009 limits the room for further
gains, the report said. The yield curve in local
government bonds has already steepened
and that may continue on rising inflationary
expectations and as monetary authorities
increase official interest rates.
Emerging Asian currencies have strength-
ened to varying degrees against the US dollar.
Appreciation pressures are likely to intensify
as capital inflows continue, which may fuel
volatility in some currencies.
The report said recent surges in capital
inflows have been driven by portfolio equity
While the return of capital flows is welcome,
surges in short-term capital inflows could
potentially leave countries vulnerable to sudden
reversal in portfolio and to sharp currency
movements
CAPITA ASIA
LM
MONITARKETS
OR
MAY 20
10
flows as investors take advantage of widening
earnings potential between emerging Asian
and mature markets.
The use of capital controls may be
appropriate in circumstances where capital
inflows are transitory and adding undue
pressure on exchange rates, and where
effectiveness of macroeconomic policy
measures to counter the inflows and the
exchange rate movements are uncertain.
“Managing capital flows requires a
wide array of policy measures, sound
macroeconomic management, a flexible
exchange rate regime, a resilient financial
system and sometimes the use of temporary
and targeted capital controls,” Mr. Madhur
said.
The Asia Capital Markets Monitor covers
11 economies of emerging Asia: the People’s
Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; India;
Indonesia; the Republic of Korea; Malaysia;
the Philippines; Singapore; Taipei,China;
Thailand; and Viet Nam. 
Srinivasa Madhur
Senior Director of ADB’s Office of
Regional Economic Integration
NEWS
World Customs,
ADB Boost
Partnership for
Trade Facilitation
A
DB President Haruhiko Kuroda and
Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya
of the World Customs Organization
(WCO) signed on 4 May a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) to strengthen the
strategic partnership between their two
organizations to facilitate trade in Asia and
the Pacific.
The MOU, signed at ADB’s 43rd Annual
Meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, aims to
build a more active partnership to make it
easier to conduct international trade, which
in turn will support long-term, sustainable,
and inclusive development.
The MOU will see the two institutions
cooperating more closely in areas relating to
customs modernization and reform, capacity
building, and research and analysis. It will
also boost information and knowledge sharing,
staff cooperation, and production of joint
publications and other knowledge products.
ADB and WCO have been collaborating
since the early 2000s on transport and trade
facilitation in Asia. 
ADB Prices $3 Billion… (Continued from page 1)
Paribas, Credit Suisse, HSBC, JP Morgan,
Nomura, RBC Capital Markets, and TD
Securities.
The deal marks ADB’s second issue in
the US dollar global bond market in 2010,
having issued bonds with a 5-year maturity in
February this year.
“We are very pleased with the transaction.
The robust sponsorship from investors
globally resulted in an oversubscribed book
of around $3.3 billion,” said ADB Treasurer
Mikio Kashiwagi.
As with previous ADB benchmark
transactions, the issue achieved broad
primary market distribution with 46% of
the bonds placed in the Americas, 32% in
Asia, and 22% with investors in Europe,
Middle East, and Africa. By investor type,
63% of the bonds went to central bank and
government institutions, 17% to banks, 14%
to fund managers, and 6% to other types of
investors.
ADB plans to raise around $15 billion
from the international capital markets in
2010. 
June 2010 3
SPEECH

Developing Asia’s Emerging Middle

Class: Issues and Opportunities
The following speech is from the opening statement by ADB's Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable
Development Ursula Schaefer-Preuss at the Workshop on Asia's Middle Class on 27 May 2010 at ADB Headquarters in
Mandaluyong, Philippines.

Introduction 2020, we must work together with to have reasonable retirement and job
our government counterparts and security, and discretionary income that
Participants, colleagues, ladies and the development community to help can be spent on vacation and leisure
gentlemen: Good morning. I am pleased alleviate poverty and improve the li- pursuits. How can we help the poor
to address you all in today’s Workshop ving conditions of people in our region. achieve their dreams of advancing
on Asia’s Middle Class. With poverty In so doing, through policy research, to the middle class? We can find this
reduction being ADB’s overarching goal we must continue to look for viable answer by studying the middle class
since 1990, this event is important for us approaches to reducing poverty and to more closely.
to understand what happens as the poor better understanding what that brighter It is the middle class that runs
achieve such advancement, and what future may look like. the bureaucracy, as well as manages
some of the broader implications are. businesses, offices, and factories. The
I understand that this is the first Importance of the Middle Class middle class is usually well-educated,
time that such a workshop has been highly skilled, and well-informed. It is
organized to develop and improve the One of these approaches is the study of also known for its more progressive
special chapter of the Key Indicators the class which the poor aspire to—the values. For example, in countries where
for Asia and the Pacific, one of ADB’s middle class. Becoming a part of the gender and other biases are deep-
flagship publications. I congratulate the middle class captures their dreams of rooted, the middle class seems to be at
Economics and Research Department for leading a comfortable life, in which they the forefront of changing old attitudes
continually improving their processes in would enjoy stable housing, healthcare, and beliefs and embracing the notion
order to strengthen analytical research and educational opportunities for their of equal opportunities for all, regardless
and knowledge sharing on important children. The middle class also tends of gender, class, caste, religion, and
development issues and challenges.
We have often described the Asia–
Pacific region as one with “two faces.”
On one hand, the region has witnessed
the most vibrant growth in the world,
and using the $1.25 poverty line,
absolute poverty has significantly
declined from 52.3% in 1990 to about
27.1% in 2005. On the other hand, there
are still around 900 million people in this
region that live below the $1.25-a-day
absolute poverty line. This constitutes
about half of the world’s absolute
poor. This is why poverty reduction
remains high on our agenda as the
overarching goal of ADB’s Strategy
2020 and inclusive growth as one of its
main pillars.
The challenges in the Asia–Pacific
region continue to be significant.
Last year, we saw the effects of the
global financial and economic crisis,
particularly as regards unemployment
and some of the long-term effects of
climate change. And it has become quite
ADB Photo Library

apparent that our region may not be

able to meet some important targets
of the Millennium Development Goals
by the year 2015. We must, therefore,
persevere in our mission. Under Strategy ADB Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Ursula Schaefer-Preuss

4 June 2010
even family background. Moreover, it is
through an expanding middle class that
political stability and better governance
are believed to be nurtured.
There have been many expectations
for the middle class. For example, many
believe that the middle class holds
the key to the future of the People’s
Republic of China or PRC, the world’s
biggest country in terms of population.
One eminent economist observed
that countries with a larger ethnically
homogeneous middle class tend to grow
faster. The middle class is considered
by many with varying perspectives to
be a critical factor in the success of a
country’s economic development.
One view is that the middle class
is the source of the most innovative
entrepreneurs who can create employ-
ment and productivity growth for the
rest of society. A more traditional no-
tion, however, is that the middle class
is primarily a source of vital inputs, such
as skilled workers, investment, and work
ethics for the entrepreneurs to combine
with their ideas to propel the economy
ahead.
Yet another view is that because
middle class consumers are willing to
pay slightly more for better-quality
products, the range of goods that is
produced and consumed in a country
grows considerably. Consequently,
investment in production and marketing
increases, which in turn raises income
levels for everyone, including the poor.
Importance of the Workshop
It is very timely that we are holding
this workshop when there are many
indications that the world is at the
threshold of a major expansion in the
middle class and that most of this
expansion will come from Asia. This
workshop can distill from the interesting
but sometimes opposing ideas about
How can we help the poor achieve their
dreams of advancing to the middle class? We
can find this answer by studying the middle
class more closely. It is the middle class that
runs the bureaucracy, as well as manages
businesses, offices, and factories.
the middle class, those that are relevant
to our development contributions. I
expect that this workshop and the next
special chapter of the Key Indicators
can identify policies that help the poor
advance to the middle class, factors
that characterize the middle class, and
pathways through which they become
effective contributors to growth. Also
in this context one should not lose sight
of the gender perspective.
I am aware that this is not a straight-
forward process. There are many diverse
views and issues as well as varying ex-
periences by countries. These different
views about the middle class probably
emanate from different definitions that
are applied. Some delineate the middle
class by income or consumption expen-
diture; others by occupation; and others
by values and political structure. To have
clear answers and recommendations
to the questions that we are posing,
it is vital that this workshop discusses
whether it is possible to agree on a com-
mon definition that can be consistently
applied across countries.
Beyond establishing the class
boundaries, however, we must also
grapple with issues about social mobil-
ity, and the balance between develop-
ment and inequality. I appreciate the
diverse country studies that I was told
were chosen to represent different
growth patterns and degrees of suc-
cess in poverty reduction. The lessons
learned from these country studies will
be instrumental to providing a clearer
focus on which characteristics of the
middle class are relevant to inclusive
growth.
Another key feature of this research
is the use of survey data for cross coun-
try comparisons and country studies.
The results of these data-intensive
analyses provide sound evidence that
can inform policy and resolve conflict-
ing views.
ADB’s Role
The success of ADB’s Strategy 2020
is anchored on supporting three com-
plementary development agendas,
the foremost of which is inclusive
economic growth. Inclusive growth
depends on the creation of—and equal
access to—opportunities. It has three
dimensions: 1) high and sustainable
growth to create productive jobs and
economic opportunity; 2) expansion
of opportunity to ensure equal access;
and 3) social protection to prevent
extreme poverty and alleviate transitory
livelihood shocks and vulnerability.
The results of this workshop and the
special chapter of the Key Indicators
2010 can provide inputs to all these three
dimensions. They will help us to have a
clearer view of how the middle class can
contribute to long-term inclusive growth
and generation of broader access to
economic opportunities. They will also
help us better appreciate the role of
social protection in ensuring that new
entrants to the middle class—individuals
who are typically vulnerable to falling
back into poverty—are able to build on
the gains they have made in getting out
of poverty and into the middle class.
Indeed, we must recognize that efforts
at rebalancing growth toward domestic
consumption will be successful if they are
undertaken together with the provision
of social safety nets, medical insurance
schemes, and better public education
services. And, as I have mentioned
earlier, not to lose sight in this important
exercise of the gender-dimension of the
manifold aspects of a growing middle
class in Asia and the Pacific.
In this context, it is worth noting
that there are already ADB projects that
deal with expanding social protection
systems in the PRC and India, the
two biggest potential contributors to
Asia’s middle class. In the PRC, an ADB
technical assistance is supporting the
creation of an effective rural pension
scheme that can help the PRC meet its
goal of universal coverage by 2020. ADB
is also providing technical assistance in
India for the establishment of a broad-
based income security system through
pensions, especially for the informal
sector workforce. This should help ease
the fiscal burden of the government,
and contribute to the development of
the national capital market, as pension
funds are important sources for long-
term funding. 
June 2010 5
FEATURE

ADB Helps Put Tajikistan’s

Switchyards on Solid Footing
By Philip Wood ifhon Samiev, former director of the Nurek
hydropower plant, underscores the need to
ADB support helps save a sinking switch- act quickly. He recalls a recent disaster at
yard, and keeps energy flowing to a similar plant in Russia, where crumbling
Tajikistan’s emerging businesses infrastructure contributed to the death of
75 workers.
“We are just praying that something
replaced using new compact Gas Insulated
Switchgear, which will use about 10% of
the area of the old switchyard. Most cru-
cially, this will allow the new switchyard
to be relocated to the smaller stable area
of the plant.
Jim Liston, principal energy specialist

I
n ADB technical reports the geological
term “subsidence” is used to describe similar doesn’t happen here,” Samiev said. of ADB’s Central and West Asia Depart-
what’s happening to the switchyards at ment, said that the new switchyards will
the Nurek Hydroelectric Station outside Beyond Emergency Rehabilitation help ensure a sustainable and reliable
Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe. To put it electricity supply that will in turn support
more simply, the two massive switchyards ADB began working with the Tajikistan Tajikistan’s economic development.
that transmit over 70% of the country’s government on a solution to the sinking “The new switchyards will mitigate the
electricity are sinking. switchyards in 2000 and has since pro- risk of natural disasters disabling the
Sitting high above one of Central vided a grant of $54 million for the Nurek switchyard, and will stabilize the flow of
Asia’s largest hydropower stations, 500kv Switchyard Reconstruction Project. electricity coming from this strategically
the switchyards have long played a Under the plan, the aging facility will be important power plant,” Liston said. 
key role in regulating the frequency
of power transmitted from Nurek not
only throughout Tajikistan but also
nearby Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Saving the Sinking Switchyards

Constructed in the early 1970s, the Nurek

switchyards are in urgent need of rehabili-
tation. Equipment is obsolete with spare
parts no longer available. As a result, the
physical infrastructure is deteriorating,
which in turn leads to reduced reliability
and security.
But more importantly, the switchyards
need to be moved because they sit atop
porous, salty ground that is slowly but
surely giving way.
Vyacheslav Oseledko

“There is a complicated geological

process going on beneath us,” said
Bahtovarsho Nazrishoev, an energy
specialist with Tajikistan’s government.
“During the rainy season, the salt is “The land is sinking by this much, each and every year,” says Bahtovarsho Nazrishoev, an energy specialist with
melting and when this happens, it creates Tajikistan’s government.
a vacuum.”
He places his hands 6 inches apart. “The
land is sinking by this much, each and every
year.” ADB began working with the Tajikistan
Nazrishoev says that geological studies
in Russia and Tajikistan have concluded government on a solution to the sinking switchyards
that the subsidence process taking place
at Nurek is both irreversible and danger-
in 2000 and has since provided a grant of $54 million
ous. The ground could collapse at any for the Nurek 500kv Switchyard Reconstruction
time.
Sitting at the head of a large conference Project
table overlooking the Nurek dam, Shar-

6 June 2010
 PROJECTS

ADB President Inaugurates Rail Line

Linking Afghanistan to Central Asia
A
DB President Haruhiko Kuroda inaugurated
on 25 May a 75-kilometer stretch of rail-
way line that connects Afghanistan’s city of
Mazar-e-Sharif to the country’s bustling northern
border with Uzbekistan.
“The new rail link between Mazar-e-Sharif and
Hairatan will help reduce trade bottlenecks, boost
commerce, and speed the flow of much-needed
humanitarian assistance,” Mr. Kuroda said at the
opening ceremony in Hairatan.
“It represents Afghanistan’s emergence as a
regional crossroad for trade and commerce and—most
importantly—the aspirations of Afghanistan’s people
to redefine their country’s role in the region and in
the world.”
The rail link is being constructed from a
$165 million ADB grant and should be completed
by the end of this year. It will connect Afghanistan
to Uzbekistan’s expansive rail network, and to
regional markets in Europe and Asia. Future links
are planned, which will run across the north and to
AFP

other parts of the country and region, including
Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
Earlier, Mr. Kuroda met with Afghan President
Hamid Karzai, Finance Minister and ADB Governor
Omar Zakhilwal, ADB Alternate Governor Abdul
Qadeer Fitrat, and other senior government officials
in the capital, Kabul. In his remarks at an official
luncheon, Mr. Kuroda said the rail link is a hall-
mark of the eight-member Central Asia Regional
Economic Cooperation Program (CAREC), which
Afghanistan joined in 2005.
The newly inaugurated railway will connect Afghanistan to Uzbekistan’s expansive rail network, and to
regional markets in Europe and Asia.
“Afghanistan is at the heart of CAREC, and
ADB’s projects in the country’s road, rail, and energy
sectors dovetail perfectly with CAREC’s vision of
helping Central Asia reap the benefit of its strategic
location,” Mr. Kuroda said.
From 2002 to the end of last year, ADB has
provided Afghanistan with approximately $2.1
billion in loans, grants, technical assistance, and
cofinancing. ADB’s focus on infrastructure and
regional cooperation is primarily demonstrated in
the transport and energy sectors. Other major ADB
projects in Afghanistan include portions of the North
East Power System, which this time last year began
bringing a regular supply of electricity into Kabul from
Uzbekistan, and rehabilitation and construction of
the northern portion of the country’s Ring Road. 

ADB, Afghan Government Discuss

Infrastructure Projects
A
DB President Haruhiko Kuroda and
Afghanistan’s Minister of Finance Omar
Zakhilwal met in Kabul in May to discuss
ADB support for major infrastructure projects in
the country’s transport, energy, agriculture, and
irrigation sectors.
“We’re committed to working with the Govern-
ment of Afghanistan to facilitate economic growth
and to contribute to poverty reduction. We’re here
for the long haul,” Mr. Kuroda said.
On the occasion of Mr. Kuroda’s visit, Mr.
Zakhilwal, who also serves as an ADB Governor,
stated, “We are honored to have Asian Development
Bank President Kuroda in Afghanistan to highlight
ADB’s commitment to Afghanistan. We are
particularly grateful to have the opportunity to
thank him for the partnership of ADB, one of the
largest donors to Afghanistan.”
“ADB’s funding of development projects in
transport, energy, communications, agriculture,
and natural resources are fully aligned with the
government’s priorities. ADB, a major funder of
core infrastructure, has been instrumental in the
construction of roads that link Afghanistan with
neighboring countries, and is also investing in rail-
ways. These transport connections will ultimately
improve the livelihoods of Afghans and increase
economic growth in many sectors in the country,”
Mr. Zakhilwal added.
Mr. Kuroda and Mr. Zakhilwal discussed the
extension of ADB-financed electricity projects in
Kabul as well as in the north and east of the country,
and the resumption of works on the northern portion
of Afghanistan’s Ring Road, which will start soon.
Mr. Kuroda also met with Afghan President
Hamid Karzai, and traveled to Mazar-e-Sharif to
inaugurate a major ADB railway project in Balkh
Province. The new railway line will connect
Mazar-e-Sharif to Hairatan, on the northern
border with Uzbekistan, removing bottlenecks,
boosting regional trade, and facilitating the flow of
humanitarian assistance.
From 2002 to 2009, ADB provided Afghanistan
with approximately $2.1 billion in Asian
Development Fund (ADF) loans, ADF grants,
technical assistance, cofinancing with other donors
and grant investment projects, and private sector
investments. 

June 2010 7
PROJECTS

ADB, Japan to Support India’s

Women Microentrepreneurs
A
DB and Japan are providing funds to
help build up the skills and capacity
of low-income women microentrepre-
neurs in India who lack the cash and know-how
to expand their business.
A grant of $3 million from the Government
of Japan-financed Japan Fund for Poverty
Reduction, administered by ADB, will be used
to help women entrepreneurs in the states
of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa,
Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh access financial
resources and market opportunities to boost
their income and improve quality of life.
The target group will be women whose
businesses have outgrown traditional
microfinance support, but who are unable
to access more conventional bank financing.
They are the so-called “missing middle” group
of the small enterprise sector, which is the
A monitoring and evaluation system will also
be put in place to measure the gender-related
results of grant activities.
The project has several innovative
features including an integrated approach
to microenterprise development, the
recruitment of women as livelihood enterprise
learning advisors, and the establishment of a
rating system for microbusinesses.
“Helping microfinance institutions
develop strategies to mainstream gender issues
and approaches in business development
will nurture women’s microenterprises,
resulting in self-sufficiency which can
stabilize poor families,” said Francesco
Tornieri, social development specialist
(gender and development) of ADB’s South
Asia Department.
The grant is linked to the ADB-financed

lifeblood of India’s informal economy.
The grant will be used to train up to 1,200
low-income women entrepreneurs in financial
literacy, business management, and other skills.
Assistance will also be given to Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and its
partner microfinance institutions to review
and revise their gender policies and practices.
Support will be given to SIDBI’s partners to
help remove the constraints faced by women
entrepreneurs in accessing financial services.
AFP
Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise
Development Project which includes a
$50 million loan and $250 million partial
credit guarantee facility, designed to boost
the small business sector. Activities will be
coordinated closely with central and state
government agencies, women’s groups,
nongovernment organizations, and other
development institutions. Additional funds
of $108,000 from the Government of India
and $106,700 from beneficiary communities
The grant targets women whose businesses have
outgrown traditional microfinance support, but
who are unable to access more conventional bank
financing.
will be provided for a total grant cost of
$3.214 million.
The grant will be disbursed over three
years to 2012, with India’s Ministry of Finance
as the executing agency and SIDBI the
implementing agency. 

ADB Signs First Trade Finance Agreements in Uzbekistan

A
DB signed trade finance agreements
with three banks in Uzbekistan in May.
The agreements with Agrobank, Asaka
Bank, and Hamkorbank are ADB’s first such
agreements in the Central Asian country.
Exporters and importers in most developing
economies lack access to financing. ADB’s
Trade Finance Facilitation Program (TFFP)
aims to fill that need by providing loans
and guarantees through, and in conjunction
with, international banks and banks in ADB’s
developing member countries.
Support for trade will also help boost the
economy in Uzbekistan, which ADB recently
forecast would grow 8.5% this year and 9.0%
in 2011.
“The agreements under ADB’s Trade
Finance Facilitation Program will provide
Uzbek companies with the financial support
they need to buy and sell key components and
final goods. More business means more jobs
and higher incomes,” said Philip Erquiaga,
director general of ADB’s Private Sector
Operations Department.
In 2009, the TFFP provided support for
$1.9 billion in trade deals, 300% more than in
2008. By attracting private sector financing
and because the portfolio can roll over once a
year, the program could generate $15 billion in
trade finance through 2013.
In addition to providing financing, the
program links banks and firms in ADB’s de-
veloping countries with their counterparts in
other countries. This builds relationships and
spurs knowledge sharing that will help banks
and their clients in the longer term.
“The trade finance agreements will bolster
cooperation between banks and businesses
in Uzbekistan as well as between firms in
Uzbekistan and their business partners further
afield,” said Kazuhiko Higuchi, ADB’s country
director in Uzbekistan.
“The links created through the program
will complement the efforts by the Central Asia
Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC)
program to help Central Asian economies lever-
age off each others’ strengths through better
transport, energy, and trade ties,” he added.
The CAREC program is a partnership
of eight countries—Afghanistan, Azerbaijan,
the People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and
Uzbekistan—and six multilateral institutions:
ADB, the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, the International Monetary
Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, the
United Nations Development Program, and
the World Bank.
Banks in Afghanistan and Azerbaijan
are already participating in ADB’s TFFP.
ADB expects banks in other Central Asian
nations to sign on to the program later in
2010. 

8 June 2010
 OPPORTUNITIES

Business Opportunities
For contractors, consultants, and investors

Education • Thailand, TA: Mainstreaming PPP • Regional, TA: Establishing a Subregional

• Lao People’s Democratic Republic, TA: Basic
Education Sector Development Program II
Lao People’s Democratic
Environment
• Regional, TA: Strengthening Planning
Capacity for Low Carbon Growth in
Developing Asia
Finance
• Thailand, TA: Capital Market Develop-
ment Phase III (previously Strengthen-
ing Capital Thai Financial Markets)
• Indonesia, TA: Strengthening National
Public Procurement Processes
BIMP–EAGA = East ASEAN Growth Area, GMS = Greater Mekong Subregion, IMT-GT = Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle, MFF = multi-tranche financing facility,
PPP = Public–Private Partnership, TA = technical assistance
in Thailand
• Regional, TA: Developing a Disaster
Risk Financing Capability (formerly
Mainstreaming Risk Transfer
Mechanisms in Country Programming)
Health, Nutrition, and Social Potection
• Philippines, TA: Capacity Development
for Social Protection
• Pakistan, Loan: Accelerating Economic
Transformation – Subprogram 3
Multisector
• Regional, TA: Selected Evaluation Studies
for 2010, Phase 1
Project Development Facility for
BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT
Trade
• Regional, TA: Support for Implementing
Action Plan for Transport and Trade
Facilitation in GMS (formerly “Enhancing
Transport and Trade Facilitation in the GMS
– cluster TA, year 1”)
Transport and Communications
• Pakistan, Loan: MFF Railway Development
Investment Program
For more information, visit
www.adb.org/Business/Opportunities/new.asp

Career Opportunities UPCOMING EVENTS

Senior Environment Specialist Rural Development Economist July 2010 August 2010
(Climate Change Adaptation) Agriculture, Environment, and Natural 7 to 9 2 to 6
(Re-advertisement) Resources Division, Southeast Asia Investment Forum for Dealing with Problem
Environment and Safeguards Division, Department Food Security in Banks
Asia and the Pacific Jakarta, Indonesia
Regional and Sustainable Development ADB Headquarters,
Department Job Purpose Manila, Philippines Contact:
Undertake agriculture and natural resources Hoe Yun Jeong
Contact: Tel +632 632 4427 •
Job Purpose sector/subsector policy and analytical work Fax +632 636 2183
Lourdes Adriano
Contribute to the development and focusing on rural development, agribusiness/ Principal Agriculture hyjeong@adb.org
implementation of ADB’s environment and natural resources value chain analysis, gender Sector Specialist
climate change adaptation program. Provide mainstreaming for rural employment creation, Tel +632 632 6214 September
advice, expertise, and support to operations to and poverty reduction. Provide analytical, ladriano@adb.org 2010
mainstream environment and climate programmatic, and operational support to rural 7 to 9 13 to 17
adaptation into ADB operations. Support the development, agriculture, and natural resources Investment Financial Analysis,
Marketplace: Call for Forensic Accounting
coordination and implementation of cross- sector investment strategy and project design
Participation and Auditing
regional cooperation initiatives. Develop and development. Undertake financial and ADB Headquarters, Bangkok, Thailand
knowledge products and disseminate these economic analysis of projects. Lead the processing Manila, Philippines
Contact:
through training delivery as well as internal and and administration of loan and technical Hoe Yun Jeong
13 to 15
external networks. Work within general assistance projects in rural development and Subregional Tel +632 632 4427 •
policies, principles, and goals, working directly agriculture/natural resources. As mission leader Millennium Fax +632 636 2183
with clients. and project officer, supervise the work of mission Development Goals hyjeong@adb.org
members, and as supervisor, oversee the (MDG) Workshop for
Deadline: 16 June 2010 East and Southeast 28 to 30
reporting staff. Work with broad policies and Asia Crowne Plaza, ADBI-OECD
objectives, working directly with clients, with Shanghai, People’s Conference on Skills
supervision for critical tasks. Republic of China Development in the
Post-Crisis Context
Contact: ADBI, Tokyo
Deadline: 18 June 2010 Michelle Domingo-
Palacpac Contact:
Tel +632 632 5820 John West
mndomingo@adb.org jwest@adbi.org

Guanghua Wan
Tel +632 632 5970
gwan@adb.org
For more information, visit
For more career opportunities and information, visit www.adb.org/employment www.adb.org/news/calendar.asp

June 2010 9
PUBLICATIONS
PUBLICATION

New Publications
ADB

Volume 42, Number 6 • June 2010
Publisher: Ann Quon
Editorial Adviser: Muriel Ordoñez
Editor: Floyd Whaley
Associate Editor: Ma. Liza Solano
Rethinking Transport and Climate Change
ADB Sustainable
This report, the tenth in the ADB Sustainable Development Working Paper Series,
Development
Working Paper Series
provides a review of emerging issues on transport and climate change in developing
Asia, and covers a range of themes: measurement of carbon in the transport sector;
policies needed for low-carbon transport, co-benefits, and innovative financing; and
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ADB Review provides a monthly

electronic digest of activities of
the Asian Development Bank. Diagnosing the Philippine Economy toward Inclusive Growth
Diagnosing the Philippine Economy investigates the binding constraints on economic
Opinions and materials in ADB Review development by following a growth diagnostics approach. Articles cover the following
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Comments may be e-mailed to
review@adb.org.

To subscribe, send an e-mail to

review@adb.org; fax a message to
+63 2 636 2648; or write to Effectiveness of Central Banks and Their Role in the Global Financial
ADB Review, Department of External Crisis: Case of Selected Economies

Relations, Asian Development Bank,






 
This study examines the role and performance of central banks in low-income countries






that have faced a range of domestic and external fragilities, aggravated by the global
6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City,


 

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 financial crisis that started in the United States and other advanced economies. It focuses
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on a select group of developing member countries of ADB in the Caucasus, Central

Asia, and South Asia that have been and will continue to be vulnerable to adverse
For the web version, go to
external developments.
www.adb.org/review.

Ho Chi Minh City

ISSN: 0118-8674 Ho Chi Minh City Adaptation to Climate Change: Summary Report
Adaptation to
Climate Change Ho Chi Minh City is one of the 10 cities in the world that are most likely to be severely
affected by climate change. By 2050, millions of its citizens will be at increased risk from

ADB Online regular and extreme climatic events such as floods, droughts, and tropical storms. To
help reduce the impacts of these risks, this study provides the city’s government and
private sector with projections for 2050 in key sectors and areas, and proposes structural
www.adb.org Summary Report
and nonstructural measures to build climate resilience in the city’s most vulnerable
sectors and areas.

 To read ADB Review online, go to

www.adb.org/review Rural Finance in Poverty-Stricken Areas in the People’s Republic of
China: Balancing Government and Market
 For information, e-mail information@ 



 


This publication offers an overview of rural finance in the People’s Republic of China,
adb.org or go to 










 
 



 

 


 
examines current financial policy and models, and offers recommendations for reform
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measures.
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10 June 2010