Australian Broadcasting Corporation
A Vietnam-based economist says a pledge from Japan of $US55 million in financial aid to four nations in the Mekong region will transform the region's economies.
Japan's pledge came during a meeting in Tokyo between the foreign ministers of Japan and Mekong River countries on Wednesday.
Japanese foreign minister, Masahiko Komura, says the funding will be channelled into various projects including the construction of highways in Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia and Laos.
Among those projects is the East West Economic Corridors, a series of highways linking Vietnam, Burma and Thailand.
Dr Adam McCarty, a chief economist with Hanoi-based Mekong Economics, told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program the project will "transform" economies in the Mekong region.
"It's very, very significant," he said.
"It's a huge investment but it's also well down the track and a lot of the planning and building is already under way.
"It's going to be very important for the countries that are in the middle, Cambodia and Laos - they're basically going to be connected properly to ports and the international economy."
Infrastructure-led development aid
Dr McCarty says Japan's latest pledge is part its Official Development Assistance program.
He says the interests of lobby groups within the building industry means Japan's ODA is often led by infrastructure development.
"Japan itself is captured by its infrastructure lobby and they build a lot of not particularly necessary roads and bridges all over Japan and that spills over to ODA," Dr McCarty told Radio Australia.
"There's a lot of pressure for Japanese ODA to be infrastructure and there's a lot of money that goes into it."
Dr McCarty says the Japanese see the Mekong as an important market that could be integrated and better connected to Japan.
Japan's pledge came during a meeting in Tokyo between the foreign ministers of Japan and Mekong River countries on Wednesday.
Japanese foreign minister, Masahiko Komura, says the funding will be channelled into various projects including the construction of highways in Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia and Laos.
Among those projects is the East West Economic Corridors, a series of highways linking Vietnam, Burma and Thailand.
Dr Adam McCarty, a chief economist with Hanoi-based Mekong Economics, told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program the project will "transform" economies in the Mekong region.
"It's very, very significant," he said.
"It's a huge investment but it's also well down the track and a lot of the planning and building is already under way.
"It's going to be very important for the countries that are in the middle, Cambodia and Laos - they're basically going to be connected properly to ports and the international economy."
Infrastructure-led development aid
Dr McCarty says Japan's latest pledge is part its Official Development Assistance program.
He says the interests of lobby groups within the building industry means Japan's ODA is often led by infrastructure development.
"Japan itself is captured by its infrastructure lobby and they build a lot of not particularly necessary roads and bridges all over Japan and that spills over to ODA," Dr McCarty told Radio Australia.
"There's a lot of pressure for Japanese ODA to be infrastructure and there's a lot of money that goes into it."
Dr McCarty says the Japanese see the Mekong as an important market that could be integrated and better connected to Japan.
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Cambodia, Young Tiger of Oil?
Cambodia will start pumping oil from offshore fields by 2009-2010. More important, though, three clues indicate that Cambodia’s reserves could be far bigger than officially stated.
Clue No. 1 is that China’s state-owned CNOOC oil monopoly got in as early as 2006, hinting that Cambodia’s National Petroleum Authority may be playing coy with lowball estimates of 400 million and 700 million barrels in reserves.
The second clue is that respected institutions such as the U.N., World Bank and Harvard University pegged Cambodian oil reserves at upwards of 2 billion barrels.
The third clue is that Japan, France and Kuwait have been sniffing around Cambodia lately for oil deals. The potential billions from these three countries could hit Cambodia anytime now -- as Pakistan continues to drive up oil prices elsewhere in the world.”
Irwin Greenstein
www.taipanfinancialgroup.com
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