ADB president: Asia-Pacific region should rebalance growth

Special
Report: Global Financial Crisis

BALI, Indonesia, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Asia and Pacific region must
rebalance growth amid the influence of global financial crisis, said Asian
Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda on Monday at the opening
session of the 42nd ADB Board of Governors Annual Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

"By rebalancing export-driven growth with a greater reliance on domestic
demand and consumption, Asia can lead the way in charting a new, globally
beneficial development course," he said.

In that case, Kuroda called on Asian countries to reinforce domestic demand
and revitalize their domestic economies. He said that these countries need to
spend more on health, education, and social security to reduce household needs
for precautionary savings; need strategies to transfer more corporate savings to
households to encourage greater consumer spending; and need the policies that
promote small and medium-sized enterprises and service industries to better
align domestic production with domestic demand.

Kuroda added that rebalancing also requires a stronger and more stable
regional investment climate to channel savings into effective and efficient
investment within the region. Therefore, Asia needs a seamless infrastructure,
which includes physical assets and the enabling policies, regulations, and
institutions.

"ADB's infrastructure investments last year totaled more than 5billion U.S.
dollars in transport and energy alone. But with financing needs estimated at 750
billion dollars a year, much more needs to be done," he said.

"With Strategy 2020, the replenished Asian Development Fund, a substantial
capital increase and our ongoing commitment to institutional effectiveness, ADB
is well-positioned to play an expanded role in the region's future development,"
Kuroda said.

Nigerian oil firm to supply 1.2 bln cubic feet of gas in 2009

LAGOS, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Group Managing Director of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mohammed Barkindo, has said that the corporation has established a short-term gas supply plan to deliver about 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas (bcft) to the domestic market by the end of 2009.

Barkindo stated this on Monday in Abuja during his facility visit to gas supply projects in the Niger Delta, the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Tuesday.

"This is a deliberate move towards meeting the 6,000 Megawatt (MW) target for this year by the Nigerian federal government aimed at boosting power supply in the country," he added.

Fidel Pepple, NNPC's General Manager in the Group Public Affairs Division, in a statement quoted Barkindo as saying that the corporation is currently working in West Niger Delta with international oil companies to meet the supply plan on schedule.

The statement noted that already some amount of gas from the projected gas supply plan is being contributed into the gas supply system.

It said the NNPC and the International Oil Companies (IOC's) have agreed to set aside a pre-determined amount of gas for the domestic market in line with the Nigerian federal government's directive in that regard.

The statement added that the NNPC's helmsman announced the gas master plan infrastructure blueprint has provision for three Central Gas Gathering and Processing Facilities (CPFs) in the Niger that will be established to flood the domestic market with gas.

Nigeria has high quality gas reserve of about 184 trillion cubic feet, ranking at the world's 7th largest. But the gas exploration and commercial production is at an early stage due to low domestic utilization rate.

Tanzanian economic growth hampered more by inflation,deficits

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

By Yi Gaochao

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Economists and analysts have warned that Tanzania's economic growth may well be affected by such adverse factors as inflation, current account deficit, low level of domestic revenue rather than reduced international aid inflow amid the ongoing financial crisis.

As government officials are blaming the global financial crisis for difficulties in implementing the 2008/2009 budget, economists from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) have pointed out that the shortcomings in implementing the budget were more as a result of internal factors than the repercussion of the global meltdown.

UDSM scholar Haji Semboja argued that the governmental authorities should have taken enough precautions to contain the possible adverse effects of the financial crisis which actually started in 2007.

An International Monetary Fund report has warned that lower growth would dampen government revenues, suggesting that the current path of spending would lead to widening fiscal deficits and a financing gap.

The IMF has identified that the real weaknesses of Tanzania's economy was its huge current account deficit which averages 13.3 percent of the country's annual gross domestic product over the 2005-2011 period.

Local economists have added low level of domestic revenue as another adverse factor to affect the country's growth.

In the current fiscal year ending in June this year, domestic revenue is projected to account for 16 percent of the GDP. The ratio was 12.5 percent two years back.

Though local economists believe that foreign aid would not reduce only because of the ongoing financial crisis, the country's reliance on international aid has been criticised by local analysts and critics.

They have argued that after nearly half a century of donor assistance, Tanzania can still not finance either its budget or its balance of payments.

The country relies on foreign aid for above 10 percent of its GDP and on direct foreign investment for above four percent of its GDP so as to compensate for the gap left by more government spending than domestic revenue.

Local economists have even proposed that the Tanzanian authorities should forecast a gradual reduction in aid inflows and instead promote a steady increase in domestic financing, taxing and borrowing, and whip up a substantial rise in exports to narrow the trade gap.

Doctor Haji Semboja has recommended that the government's medium- and long-term strategies should be to reduce donor dependency and to do more by the country itself.