This paper reviews recent banking reform efforts in the lower Mekong countries (LMCs), comprising Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Vietnam. Linked by close economic and cultural ties, the three LMCs face the dual challenge of economic development and transition to market-based economies. Two-tier banking systems were formally introduced in the late 1980s. However, state-owned banks with weak balance sheets continue to dominate the banking systems of Vietnam and Lao P.D.R. Cambodia's main challenge is to reconstruct a banking system after decades of civil strife. Based on progress made and brief cross-country comparisons, the paper identifies key challenges and options for further reform.

This book sheds light on the dollarization trends of four transitional economies in Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Moving beyond the tendency to focus on the Latin American experience of dollarization and prolonged high inflation, the chapters in this book compare how payment dollarization has been more persistent than other types of dollarization in this region due to network externalities. The book illustrates that dollarization started in the underdeveloped financial system in these countries and that dollarization interacted with financial development, which is in contrast to dollarization in Latin America. This project extends the frontiers of empirical studies on dollarization. It will be of interest to students, researchers and policy makers concerned with dollarization and economics in Southeast Asia.

Rural development is a crucial issue throughout the world. Key issues include farming and forestry, land use and the management of natural resources. In addition economic diversification in rural communities is at the centre of many programs across the globe.

This study examines progress in rural and microfinance in Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Viet Nam over the past decade, in comparison with industry standards set by international best practices. The study focuses on the policy environment, including regulatory norms and their implementation, as well as support provided to financial infrastructure, and the impact of this environment on the development and performance of institutions providing rural and microfinance services. This examination helps guide government and international development agencies as to which types of interventions can be most supportive of efficient and sustainable institutions that provide financial products and services to the poor, especially those in rural areas.

Progress in fiscal reforms, especially with regard to revenue mobilization, will require a broader reform of center-province fiscal relations in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. There are challenges ahead to restructure the state-owned commercial banks (SCB) and strengthen the banking system. Corporate governance of SCBs is still weak, hampered by the absence of a fully independent board of directors. The international advisors should continue to play an important role in the bank restructuring process. The note presents statistical data on economic indices of Lao People's Democratic Republic.

This book explores what happened in the transition economies of China, Vietnam and Myanmar from both macro and micro perspectives, and questions whether the governments of these countries are capable of implementing effective reform and transformation.

For many years Myanmar operated an inward-looking economic system built on import substitution. Ultimately this policy failed, leaving behind inefficient state economic enterprises and widespread poverty. Political unrest in 1988 led a newly installed military government to liberalize the economy, opening it to foreign investment and private participation in trade. This move towards a market economy was in line with world-wide trends, but political instability forced the country to follow a course different from neighboring countries. By analyzing economic policies and performance across the economic spectrum, this book presents an overall picture of economic development in Myanmar between 1988 and the early 2000s. The authors synthesize both macro and micro level data to overcome some of the limitations of unreliable national statistics, and show how the government attempted to deal with two key issues it faced. The first was how to reform the inefficient socialistic economic system in conformity with a market economy, and the second was how to develop the agricultural and underdeveloped economy to alleviate mass poverty.

The challenges in development often seem insurmountable. They overwhelm - tions and the builders of their most basic institutions. I am often asked how dev- opment finance agencies can work together to meet this challenge. In reply I invite you to read a story about cooperation in re-building one of the most basic insti- tions of any society –– the banking system. KfW Bankengruppe places great emphasis on financial sector development. Our experience in our own country, and beyond our borders, shows that one of the first steps is building a banking system that fuels growth through investment in enterprises. Micro, small and medium enterprises are the backbone of many economies; they are also the wealth of the people and generate their hope in the future. We believe that the depth of the financial sector is related to economic growth; the growth and safety of deposits, the facility of payments, and the in- vation to develop new products and services that strengthen markets and promote investment. A strong banking system supports economic growth by attracting unproductive capital and injecting it into the economy, increasing the productivity of the country’s capital base and leveraging it by attracting outside capital.