ADB to help attract foreign money

ADB to help attract foreign money

MANILA (AFP): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will expand efforts to help developing member countries (DMCs) set up the necessary legal framework that could attract more foreign investments, the bank said Wednesday.

A statement from the Manila-based institution quoted ADB general counsel Barry Metzger as saying the bank is "currently reviewing its law-related programming to chart out a future course of action" in setting up such frameworks.

"Among the most significant challenges facing DMC governments in the region is the development of new regulatory frameworks for economies with active public sector, private sector and, in many cases, joint public-private sector participants," Metzger said.

Clear-cut regulatory frameworks are needed as Asian economies -- the fastest growing in the world -- become more market oriented and complex, the bank said.

Metzger said ADB will focus on the economies of shifting from central to a market-oriented system, regulatory frameworks in specific sectors such as electricity, telecommunications and transport, as well as capital market development.

Laws governing projects under the build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) scheme, security and credit, and the need for legal training will also be part of the ADB's priorities, Metzger added.

The ADB, whose membership includes 55 countries, has been at the forefront of helping Asian nations develop over the past three decades.