• TRADE AND INVESTMENT PUBLICATIONS
• SELECTED WORLDWIDE WEBSITES

East Asian Finance: The Road to Robust Markets. June 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 36 pages, 224 KB). World Bank.
This report seeks to contribute to the discussion on the agenda for financial sector development that is now underway among policymakers and market participants in East Asia. Developments since the financial crisis of 1997, as well as some of the lessons of the crisis itself, have prompted policy-makers in East Asia to take a strategic look at the role that the financial sector needs to play in the region’s ambitious growth and development agenda. The paper argues that East Asia needs to further diversify its financial markets with the appropriate development of mechanisms for the sharing, transfer and pricing of risks. A vibrant East Asian financial sector, according to the report, should have at least three characteristics, namely it should be highly diversified in its ability to cater to the needs of increasingly complex and sophisticated economies; it should provide financial services efficiently; and it should be robust to withstand a variety of shocks in a fast changing globalizing world economy.
Accessed on 10 July
< http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPREGTOPFINFINSECDEV/Resources/589748-1144293317827/EAPFinance_Road_Robust_Mkt_June06.pdf >

Economic Integration in East Asia: Trends, Prospects, and a Possible Roadmap. July 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 29 pages, 623 KB) Working Paper Series on Regional Economic Integration No. 2, ADB.
This paper reviews trends in East Asian regionalism in the areas of trade and investment, money and finance, and infrastructure. It presents various measures of trade and financial integration. An important finding of the paper is that increasing trade and financial integration in the region is now starting to lead to a synchronization of business cycles in a selected group of countries, further enhancing the case for monetary integration among these countries. The paper also outlines a roadmap for East Asian integration.
Accessed on 28 July
< http://aric.adb.org/regionalcooperation/workingpaper/WP2%20Rana%20240706.pdf >

Foreign Direct Investment, Development and Gender Equity: A Review of Research and Policy. January 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 51 pages, 490 KB). United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
This publication provides a summary of the empirical and policy-related literature on the multifaceted relationships between gender inequalities and foreign direct investment (FDI). Another purpose of the paper is the identification of gaps in the literature and to raise questions for new research directions. The paper draws out both the policy implications of what is already known and the questions that need to be researched in order to formulate development-friendly and gender-equitable policies with regard to FDI. It begins with a review of the general literature on FDI in developing countries, covering the distribution and determinants of inward investment flows, and the role of wages and labour standards in affecting those inflows. The next section assesses the contribution of FDI to growth and development by reviewing the research into its impact on investment, productivity, trade, employment, wages and working conditions. The paper ends with discussing policies for managing FDI for the good of development and evaluates which are the most promising for strengthening the links between gender, growth and foreign investment in female-intensive industries.
Accessed on 23 August
< http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BCCF9/(httpPublications)/ >

India – Pakistan Trade. June 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 67 pages, 477 KB). Working Paper No. 182, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)
This paper commences outlining that quantitative studies estimate that the potential two way trade between India and Pakistan could be about 10 times higher than the current level and that moving towards realizing this trade potential would be in the interest of both countries and the region. With this in mind, it moves to identify areas of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. On the basis of a survey conducted in Delhi, Mumbai and Amritsar the paper examines the characteristics of firms engaged in Indo-Pakistan trade. It also estimates the transaction costs of trade on the basis of a detailed examination of existing transport arrangement between the two countries and the impact of all existing non-tariff barriers. The study suggests that the most important step towards enhancing trade would be to adopt the most-favored nation (MFN) principle as the current policy inhibits trade, lacks transparency and leads to high transaction costs. It finds that transportation links between the two countries are inadequate, suggests that new rail and road links should be opened and spells out some simple policy measures to lower transaction costs. The study also examines recent developments regional and bilateral trade agreements and draws lessons to enhance Indo-Pakistan trade.
Accessed on 28 July < http://www.icrier.org/pdf/WP182.pdf >

Liberalising Network Infrastructure Services and the GATS. May 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 52 pages, 458 KB). Trade Policy Working Paper No. 34, OECD.
This study reviews key issues in liberalising network infrastructure services in a national and multilateral context, arguing that enhanced trade and investment in network infrastructure services can help achieve development goals. However, the authors stress that liberalisation is no easy task and that it requires sound regulation and effective institutions to address market failures and ensure public policy objectives. The paper argues that if appropriately designed, bound liberalisation under the GATS can contribute to the advancement of national objectives by improving investor’s confidence when countries decide to allow private sector participation in these services. Further, the WTO services agreement can affect the regulatory conduct of Governments in some areas of network infrastructure services, particularly when specific commitments are made.
Accessed on 23 August
< http://webdomino1.oecd.org/olis/2004doc.nsf/Linkto/td-tc-wp(2004)51-final >

“Socially Responsible” Trade Integration: A Political Economy Perspective. 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 56 pages, 400 KB). Department for International Development (DFID).
The author outlines that mainstream economics believes that the liberalization of international trade produces significant gains but that the public opinion is much less optimistic, that it is concerned that the current division of the gains from trade is unfair, unevenly distributed both across and within countries. He argues that to understand the position of globalization sceptics and respond to their complaints, economists and policymakers need to move beyond the fact that trade produces static and dynamic gains. They need to pay more attention to the “pains from trade,” the distributive dimensions of trade integration, and the interactions between trade openness and domestic redistributive policies. After briefly reviewing what is known about the distributive impacts of trade openness, this paper examines the political economy feedbacks of trade integration on domestic redistribution and identifies the economic and political feasibility constraints of a trade regime with redistribution. Taking a normative perspective, it explores the conditions for the existence of a “socially responsible” open trade regime and discusses some of the policy trade-offs associated with implementing such a regime.
Accessed on 23 August < http://www2.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/itd/compensation.pdf >

Trade, FDI and the Organization of Firms. March 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 52 pages, 549 KB). Working Paper No. 12091, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
New developments in the world economy have triggered research designed to better understand the changes in trade and investment patterns, and the reorganization of production across national borders. The paper argues that although traditional trade theory has much to offer in explaining parts of this puzzle, other parts require new approaches. The authors state that the need to model alternative forms of involvement of business firms in foreign activities is particularly acute, because organizational change has been central in the transformation of the world economy. This paper reviews the literature that has emerged from above described efforts. The theoretical refinements in this paper have focused on the individual firm, studying its choices in response to its own characteristics, the nature of the industry in which it operates, and the opportunities afforded by foreign trade and investment.
Accessed on 29 May < http://papers.nber.org/papers/W12091 >

World Trade Report 2006. July 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 266 pages, 3.39 MB) WTO.
The World Trade Report 2006 begins with a short summary of major trends in international trade and provides brief analytical commentaries on specific issues, namely recent trends in trade in textiles and clothing, an examination of the evolution of international royalty and fee payments, developments in the trade of least-developed countries as well as an analysis of the effects of natural disasters and acts of terrorism on international trade flows. The core topic for analysis is subsidies. The report explores this area of policy in terms of how subsidies are defined, what economic theory says about subsidies, why Governments use subsidies, the most prominent sectors in which subsidies are applied and the role of the WTO agreement in regulating subsidies in the context of international trade.
Accessed on 28 July
< http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/anrep_e/world_trade_report06_e.pdf >

http://www.centad.org/index.asp
Centre for Trade and Development (Centad)
The Centre for Trade and Development is an independent, non-profit organization based in India that carries out policy research and advocacy on issues related to trade and development with a focus on South Asia. Centad aims to strengthen the ability of Governments and communities to make trade and globalization work for development. It works to advocate for policy changes around trade and development; offer policy insights into debates around trade and development; and facilitate the process of development by empowering South Asian civil society organizations with information on the linkages between trade, development and poverty reduction. The website provides trade news, a list of current and upcoming events, various guides to WTO agreements, publications, backgrounders on various issues, etc.
Accessed on 23 August

http://www.fncci.org
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI)
E-mail: fncci@mos.com.np
The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry is an umbrella organization of the Nepalese private sector. FNCCI has been playing a key role in promoting business and industry in the country. It provides information, advisory, consultative, promotional and representative services to business and Government and organizes trainings, workshops and seminars on a regular basis. It aims to play a catalytic role in the business and industrial development and establish sound industrial relations in the country; to reinforce the business community’s commitment to the society; to provide advisory services to Government; to foster cooperation with related national and foreign organizations; to provide up-to-date information services to business and Government and the community at large; and to create awareness and support for business and industry efforts on issues affecting business, such as quality, social responsibility, corporate governance, HIV/AIDS, child labour, environment, etc.
Accessed on 23 August

http://www.indiatradepromotion.org/
India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO)
E-mail: info@itpo-online.com, itpo@vsnl.com
The India Trade Promotion Organization is the nodal agency of the Government of India for promoting the country’s external trade. ITPO plays a proactive role in catalysing trade, investment and technology transfer processes. Its promotional tools include organizing of fairs and exhibitions in India and abroad, buyer-seller meets, contact promotion programmes, product promotion programmes, promotion through overseas department stores, market surveys and information dissemination. The website features a list of tenders, information on upcoming events as well as useful contact details of ITPO oversea offices.
Accessed on 24 August

http://www.iccwbo.org/
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
The International Chamber of Commerce is a world business organization whose activities cover a broad spectrum from arbitration and dispute resolution to making the case for open trade and the market economy system, business self-regulation, fighting corruption or combating commercial crime. ICC also offers relevant trade-related information. ICC membership groups thousands of companies of every size in over 130 countries worldwide. They represent a broad cross-section of business activity including manufacturing, trade, services and the professions. The website offers wide background information in areas covered by ICC, including anti-corruption; banking techniques and practice; commercial law; Customs and trade regulations; e-business, intellectual property; corporate governance and more.
Accessed on 28 July

http://www.bsec-organization.org
Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)
E-mail: bsec@die.gov.tr
The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, comprising Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine, works towards attaining a sustained growth of Member economies and the social well-being of their peoples. To achieve this, the Member States cooperate in areas of trade and economic development; banking and finance; communications; energy; transport; agriculture and agro-industry; health care and pharmaceutics; environmental protection; tourism; science and technology; exchange of statistical data and economic information; collaboration between customs and other border authorities; human contacts; combating organized crime, illicit trafficking of drugs, weapons and radioactive materials, all acts of terrorism and illegal migration or in any other related area.
Accessed on 24 August

http://www.pftac.org
Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Center (PFTAC)
E-mail: apdpftac1@imf.org
The Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Center was established in Fiji in 1993 to provide technical advice and capacity building to 15 Pacific island countries (PICs). The center is operated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in consultation with the Governments of the PICs and the donors supporting it. PFTAC aims to build skills and institutional capacity in Member countries for effective economic and financial management that can be sustained at the national level. It does this by providing technical advice and training in public financial management, tax administration and policy, banking regulation and supervision, and macroeconomic and financial statistics. Members are: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Accessed on 23 August

http://www.paa.net
Pan-Asian E-Commerce Alliance
E-mail: fiona.chan@tradelink.com.hk
The Pan-Asian E-Commerce Alliance aims to promote and provide secure, trusted, reliable and value-adding IT infrastructure and facilities for efficient global trade and logistics. Members include focal points in China; Hong Kong, China, Japan; Republic of Korea; Macao, China; Malaysia; Singapore and Thailand. They have committed themselves to enable secure and reliable transmission of trade and logistics document, to allow inter-connection of network services in order to provide e-Commerce transaction application services for the business community, and to create a Pan-Asian portal to enable global B2B connection and communication. Current projects deal with secure cross-border transaction services, mutual recognition of public key infrastructure (PKI), cargo tracking service and financial facilitation. The website also features a traders directory, searchable by company name, HS code, ISIC code and principle activities.
Accessed on 24 August

http://www.sec.gov.lk/
Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC)
E-mail: mail@sec.gov.lk
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka is tasked to regulate the securities market in Sri Lanka; to grant licenses to stock exchanges, stock brokers and stock dealers who engage in the business of trading in securities and to set up a compensation fund. The mission of SEC is to ensure a fair and orderly market and to protect the interest of investors therein. To achieve this, the website provides various educational and informational material and publications. It also offers access to all relevant rules and regulations as well as a list of all registered market intermediaries.
Accessed on 24 August

http://www.tabdc.org
Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council (TABDC)
E-mail: tabdc@tabdc.org
The Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council works to promote and facilitate close cooperation between the Armenian and Turkish business circles, to help Armenian and Turkish companies streamline their operations and lines of communications, to establish direct trade and business links in various sectors and to maintain close ties between the Governments of Armenia and Turkey to enable them to forge global economic policies. The website provides a news section, information on projects and activity reports.
Accessed on 23 August

Information is taken mainly from secondary sources and UNESCAP accepts no responsibility for its accuracy. Mention of any companies and their products does not imply endorsement by the United Nations.

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.