By Véronique Salze-Lozac’h

Véronique Salze-Lozac’h is The Asia Foundation’s Regional Director for Economic programs. She is based in Phnom Penh and can be reached at vsalze-lozach@asiafound.org.

One might wonder whether, at a time of financial turmoil and economic uncertainty, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the most urgent economic issue to discuss.  One might argue, when hundreds of thousands are expected to lose their jobs and as many enterprises are struggling to simply survive throughout the world, that companies would be better off focusing on their primary needs, concentrating on reducing costs, and improving productivity and market shares. Indeed, one might think that CSR is a luxury that enterprises cannot afford at a time of economic crisis or that for a country like Cambodia, which is still in its early stage of development, not a priority.  However, it is precisely the issues of productivity, competitiveness and economic development that were discussed a few days ago at the first conference on Corporate Social Responsibility organized in Phnom Penh. 
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By Véronique Salze-Lozac’h

Veronique Salze-Lozac’h is the Regional Director for Economic Programs in Cambodia. She can be reached at vsalze-lozach@asiafound.org.

“We feel that too often, we are floating with the tide, but we want to be more active, we actually want to learn how to swim,” explained H.E. Ung Huot, Chairman of the Cambodian Senate’s Commission on Economy, Planning, Investment and Environment.

In the midst of what we can now call an international financial and economic crisis, more than 140 Cambodian senators, parliamentarians, and Government officials — but also students and businesspeople — gathered in Phnom Penh to discuss economic policy reforms and learn from the experience of their neighbor, South Korea.  They gathered at a seminar organized by the Cambodian Senate and The Asia Foundation on November 6th in Phnom Penh.
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By Tommy Koh

Tommy Koh is Ambassador-At-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, and Chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies and the National Heritage Board. He was one of the three Asian co-chairs for the recently released book, America’s Role in Asia: Asian and American Views. Below is an excerpt from his chapter, which provides recommendations for a new U.S.  administration’s foreign policy towards the Southeast Asia region.

The peoples of Southeast Asia are following the 2008 U.S. presidential elections with great attention and admiration, given the open and transparent primary processes. America’s real and vibrant democracy is reflected in the competing candidates’ travels to every corner of the country to win the hearts and minds of voters. This illustrates that the highest office of the land can neither be secured by wealth nor pedigree and, this year especially, neither race nor gender is an insurmountable obstacle. Consequently, in some parts of the world, including Southeast Asia, anti-Americanism has been balanced by a respect for America’s current exercise of democracy.

Thus, every region of the world wants America’s attention; the only question is whether American attention is positive or negative. Washington’s nature is to focus attention on the largest countries, regions, and economies, which can pose a threat to American interest or to international peace and security. By these standards, Southeast Asia — a region largely at peace — does not receive the positive attention it deserves. Read More…

By V. Bruce J. Tolentino

Bruce Tolentino is The Asia Foundation’s Director for Economic Reform and Development Programs. He can be reached at btolentino@asiafound.org.

Over the past few weeks, as the U.S. financial system has reeled from a shocking series of major “adjustments,” Asia’s economists and bankers remind themselves of the key lessons — painfully taught — by the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s:  (a) all markets are linked; (b) financial markets are much more volatile than others and thus require more stringent oversight and regulation; and (c) refocusing on economic fundamentals is key to long-term recovery and growth.

Taking the long view, the medium-to-long term impact of the U.S. financial crisis on Asia is likely to be muted.
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The below is an excerpt from a July 25th opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, authored by Roderick Brazier, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Cambodia. The entire article can be read here.

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party will win a thumping victory in the July 27 national parliamentary elections, the fourth held since 1993. Outside one-party states, rarely can an election result be foretold with such confidence, but in Cambodia, the CPP’s continuing — indeed strengthening — grip on power is assured. At elections that observers expect to be broadly free and fair, the CPP will easily win enough seats to stay in power for the next five years. Read more…

By Veronique Salze-Lozac’h

Veronique Salze-Lozach is the Regional Director for Economic Programs at The Asia Foundation’s office in Phnom Penh.

A few weeks ago, trucks carrying loudspeakers and loads of cheerful party supporters sporting colorful t-shirts invaded the normally peaceful streets of Phnom Penh. Small white posters displaying the images of party leaders started to cover walls throughout the capital city. There is no doubt about it; the election season has started.

In a country still on the learning curve of democracy, this event is indeed significant.

Music in the streets, often played as early as 5 a.m., and shouted slogans mixed with the discordant sounds of loud speakers should not conceal the reality of a “relatively” quiet campaign season. Up until now, the 4th mandate for National Assembly elections in Cambodia has been less violent than the previous one: while the 2003 elections were overshadowed by intimidation and violence, the 2008 campaign season has been generally qualified by observers, politicians, and the Cambodian National Election Committee as, for the most part, peaceful. Whether this relative tranquility is a sign of democratic maturity or of a lack of enthusiasm for an election that many believe is a foregone conclusion has yet to be determined.
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Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by The Asia Foundation’s Marielle Sander-Lindstrom, Chief of Party, Counter Trafficking in Persons Project (C-TIP), about Cambodia’s first-ever national efforts to collect standardized data on human trafficking. Trafficking statistics are notoriously difficult to gather, and consistent, accurate data and analysis will help ensure that Cambodia’s policies and programs respond to real needs.

To read the full article, click here.

By John Brandon

John Brandon is Director of The Asia Foundation’s International Relations program and head of America’s Role in Asia.

With our election cycle, every four years American foreign policy has a fresh opportunity to be re-examined and re-strategized. Come 2009, U.S. policy towards Asia will continue to directly affect 60% of the world’s population. Many Asians tell me they’re concerned that decisions affecting them, and their countries’ security, are being made unilaterally in Washington. Many say they believe the Global War on Terror tops the U.S. foreign policy agenda, trumping all else. Asian policymakers I’ve spoken to say repeatedly they have little input in decisions made in the U.S. and that their domestic interests are rarely if ever taken into account. Given the political, economic, and security interests of the U.S. in the region, it is essential that both Americans and Asians contribute to solving problems of mutual concern.
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By Roderick Brazier

Roderick Brazier is The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Cambodia.

After decades of misery and conflict, Cambodia is now a hot destination. A staggering two million foreign tourists are expected to visit Angkor and other destinations in 2008. The benefits are real and numerous; decent jobs have been created in the tens of thousands. Other benefits abound, including growth in tax revenue, and the expansion of labor-hungry auxiliary industries such as handicrafts, food supply and distribution, and transport. Moreover, as more tourists leave with happy memories, Cambodia will shake off its reputation as a shadowy, grim place, and assume standing as a normal developing country in Asia; an intangible gain but one that many ordinary Cambodians yearn for.

There is close to unanimous support for the growth of tourism in Cambodia. So it was surprising to read a recent opinion piece in the Boston Globe, written by Dante Ramos, saying that the benefits of Cambodia’s tourism boom are uncertain. In a classic “good news is really bad news” op-ed, Ramos made several highly contestable claims:
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By V. Bruce J. Tolentino

Dr. Bruce Tolentino is the Director for Economic Reform and Development Programs at The Asia Foundation.

“While great advances have been made in reducing poverty in Asia, there remain stubborn pockets of deprivation,” said Dr. Arsenio Balisacan, speaking at a recent economic and reform seminar organized by The Asia Foundation in San Francisco.

Dr. Balisacan is a noted poverty analyst from the Philippines, the current Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

The statistics expressed in terms of Asia-wide averages gloss over wide disparities in per-country growth. China, Vietnam, and Thailand show major decreases in poverty between the early 1990s and the early 2000s – largely explaining the fall in the proportion of people living on US$1 per day or less from as much as 80% to only 20%. However, poor people continue to dominate the populations of Cambodia, Laos, and Timor-Leste.
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