Welcome to Devonomics, a CRI newsletter. Each week we round up the most relevant news in Asia’s development finance and add a short take on what they mean for projects, budgets, and people on the ground. We will also include the latest from CRI, including new analysis and event highlights.
The real measure is not size but strength, Asia needs growth that lasts. This week’s stories show reform in energy markets, climate resilience, and regulatory foundations, the unseen changes that will shape who wins and who’s left behind.
What Changed This Week
- East Asia & Pacific: The World Bank’s “East Asia and Pacific: Bolder Reforms Key to Generating Jobs and Faster Growth” projects regional growth of 4.8 %, but warns that quality jobs are not keeping pace. World Bank
- Thailand: The World Bank’s Country Climate and Development Report argues that climate-smart investments could lift GDP by 5 % by 2050 if Thailand moves quickly. The report highlights climate risks like floods and heat, and outlines pathways to resilience and green growth. World Bank
- Cambodia: The Asian Development Bank has approved US $82.5 million for Phase 2 of its Energy Transition program, introducing appliance energy standards and a fund to help SMEs invest in efficient tech.ADB
- Afghanistan: ADB has committed US $470 million in grants to maintain health services, deliver food relief, and support community resilience projects following recent disasters.ADB
What to Watch Next Week
- IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings (Oct 13–18, Washington D.C.)
- Asia 2025: Agency, Energy & Infrastructure Finance (October 14–16, Singapore)
Lead Analysis | East Asia and Pacific: Reforms for Better Jobs
The World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Economic Update projects regional growth of 4.8 % in 2025, led by Viet Nam (6.6 %), Mongolia (5.9 %), and the Philippines (5.3 %).
Yet strong GDP is masking a jobs paradox: most new work is informal, low-productivity, and excludes many young and female workers. While 25 million people are expected to move above the poverty line by 2026, vulnerability now outweighs middle-class security in most economies.
At the same time, weaker global demand, increasing trade barriers, and low business confidence are cooling momentum. For 2026, the growth forecast suggests a slowdown to around 4.3 %.
What changes on the ground: Faster, simpler rules for starting and growing a business would help firms hire beyond short-term, low-paid service work. Stronger training in digital and practical skills would open better jobs for young people and women, who are currently squeezed out of higher-value roles. If governments improve access to credit and basic digital infrastructure, more small firms can sell beyond their neighborhood and tap regional demand. Together, these steps turn the current 4.8 percent growth into real opportunity, even as 2026 faces weaker confidence.
Takeaway: Asia’s next challenge is not just maintaining strong growth. It is making sure that economic gains reach more people and communities—turning scale into shared opportunity.
Brief 1 | Thailand: Climate Investment as a Growth Plan
Thailand faces a pivotal moment in its economic trajectory. The Country Climate and Development Report projects that without action, climate shocks such as flooding, extreme heat, coastal erosion, could shrink GDP by 7 to 14 percent by 2050. Yet the report also argues that strategic resilience investments can turn this risk into a growth lever, raising GDP by 4 to 5 percent above current trajectories.
To enable this transformation, the report estimates a US $219 billion investment over 25 years, amounting to about 2.4 percent of cumulative GDP, split roughly between adaptation, mitigation, and sustainable agriculture/forestry investments. The public sector is anticipated to lead on adaptation, with the private sector driving the bulk of emissions-reduction measures via green technologies and different incentives.
Takeaway: Thailand’s climate agenda is emerging as a strategic growth lever, not just a public-sector cost. Firms that align early with resilience and low-carbon standards stand to unlock export markets, access green capital, and benefit from lower long-term energy costs, while laggards risk rising losses and exclusion from global supply chains.
Brief 2 | Cambodia: ADB Funds Energy Efficiency Reforms
ADB has approved US $82.5 million for the second phase of Cambodia’s Energy Transition Sector Development Program. The funding will support the rollout of Minimum Energy Performance Standards, beginning with air conditioners, and establish an Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund so local banks can lend to small and medium enterprises upgrading to efficient equipment. A third program phase, scheduled for 2027, will expand standards to cover renewables, buildings, and industrial energy systems.
Takeaway: Cambodia is evolving from demonstration projects toward a market-driven efficiency ecosystem. The revolving fund and appliance standards signal that private capital and small firms are now core actors in scaling clean energy.
Brief 3 | Afghanistan: Support for Health and Food Security
ADB is providing US $470 million in grants to maintain essential services and protect livelihoods in Afghanistan. The larger grant will support medical care, childhood vaccinations, maternal health programs across 17 provinces, and distribute seeds and livestock inputs to more than 160,000 households. Another grant will provide food aid to areas facing immediate hunger risks and back local projects that increase resilience to floods, droughts, and other shocks.
Takeaway: By tying humanitarian relief to economic recovery, these grants aim not only to meet urgent needs but to rebuild productive capacity. Investments in health, agriculture, and resilience reduce the risk that short-term aid becomes long-term dependency.
Thanks for reading Devonomics! Send story leads or feedback to sianakazi@regionalintegration.org and share it with a colleague who follows development finance in Asia.
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Siana Kazi is a Development Finance Fellow at the Centre for Regional Integration and curates Devonomics, an Asia-focused policy brief. Her focus is on South–South cooperation, EU-Asia connectivity, and the implications of trade, industrial, and green-transition policies for regional integration.
