Uzbekistan set an ambitious goal to achieve the status of an upper-middle-income country by 2030, with the focus on growing a large and solid middle-class social stratum. The current reforms in Uzbekistan largely target the development of small businesses and private entrepreneurship (SME) as...

As the growth of energy demand outstrips that of energy supply in Southeast Asia, it becomes imperative for ASEAN member states to seek energy efficiency improvements for sustained energy security. While green buildings have an overall low penetration rate in ASEAN, when compared to the rest of...

The paper discusses state, regulative framework, and recent developments in leveraging access to finance for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Kyrgyz Republic through global value chain (GVC) examples in the Kyrgyz Republic. Access to finance in the Kyrgyz Republic is...

One of the major issues for SME development has been access to finance. This paper examines the current state of SME development and financing in Kazakhstan. It also examines the current state of the development of value chains and discusses barriers for agriculture value chain financing. The...

This paper presents the findings of a survey among 18 central banks from Asia and the Pacific regarding their views on and policies regarding sustainable finance. It also reviews recent developments in selected Asia and Pacific countries concerning sustainable finance to illustrate the actions...

India is one of the most significant countries of Asia, particularly in terms of its population and growing economy and markets. India has rapidly moved from a 'command and control' economy to free-market principles, and in this regard, one of the major reforms revamped the competition law. The...

Being one of the former centrally planned economies, Viet Nam is still home to a substantial state-owned sector. From the implementation of the "Doi Moi" policy in the late 1980s, the restructuring of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) since 1990 is considered as one of three crucial pillars in the...

Placing the Asian economies onto a sustainable development pathway requires an unprecedented shift in investment away from greenhouse gas, fossil fuel and natural resource intensive industries towards more resource efficient technologies and business models. The financial sector will have to...

This paper examines the emergent role of sustainable finance and investment in Japan and scrutinizes the need for the Japanese financial system to mitigate growing climate risks and support the transition of the Japanese economy to a low-carbon, sustainable pathway. It first illustrates Japan's...

The building and construction sectors contribute about 38% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and account for 35% of the total energy consumption. With the growing population (especially in developing Asia) and increasing income, the demand for construction and building will continue to rise,...