1. ICP REGIONAL COORDINATORS’ MEETING 7-11 March 2005 Washington, D.C., USA ICP ASIA PACIFIC Regional Report

2. Outline of the ICP Asia Pacific Report I.Preparedness of ICP Asia Pacific for ICP Surveys II.Level of GDP Participation III.Other Activities Undertaken in the Asia Pacific Region IV.ToolPack Matters

3. Preparedness for ICP Price Surveys – PREPARING for SURVEYS  RO assisted 18 participating countries in the conduct of in-country training for their price collectors for ICP price surveys and ToolPack.  ICP Asia Pacific consultant reviewed sampling plans submitted by the countries. A few countries accordingly revised their sampling plans based on comments & re-submitted these to the RO.

4. Preparedness for ICP Price Surveys – STARTING DATES of SURVEYS  India undertook a pilot survey in December 2004 but its main survey is expected to start in the 2 nd half of February due to the tsunami calamity.  Sri Lanka will start 2 nd half of March as many of its statistical officers are assisting in the tsunami- affected areas.  Twenty-one of 23 participating countries have started their surveys as of January.

5. Preparedness for ICP Price Surveys – FREQUENCY of SURVEYS Weekly/Monthly surveysCambodia; PRC; Fiji; Hong Kong; Lao PDR; Malaysia; Singapore; Taipei; Thailand; Vietnam & Macao Weekly/Monthly/Quarterly surveys Bhutan; India; Iran; Maldives; Mongolia; Pakistan; Sri Lanka & Brunei Quarterly surveysBangladesh; Indonesia; Nepal & Philippines

6. LEVEL of GDP PARTICIPATION  Group 1 - Full GDP: Bangladesh; Fiji; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Malaysia; Mongolia; Nepal; Pakistan; PRC; Philippines; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Taipei; Thailand & Vietnam  Group 2 - Final Consumption of HHs: Bhutan; Cambodia; Lao PDR & Maldives  The recently held National Accounts workshop, however, showed the capability of almost all participating countries in providing the required weights for the 155 BHs, for the full GDP comparison.  At the onset of ICP 2005, participating countries in the Asia Pacific Region were divided into two groups based on their level of GDP participation.

7. Preparedness for ICP Price Surveys – COVERAGE of SURVEYS/LEVEL of DETAILS for SUBMISSION of PRICE DATA  The 3 rd ICP Asia Pacific RAB meeting agreed that it would request countries to submit raw data. However, confirmation from countries is yet to be received.  Nationwide coverage with urban/rural dimension for all ICP Price Surveys in the Asia Pacific Region. All capital cities are included in the surveys.

8. Other Activities  Ring List Workshop  The GO held the ring list workshop for Hong Kong, China; Malaysia; Philippines and Sri Lanka from 31 January to 11 February 2005 at the ADB HQ.  Comments on Pharmaceutical SPDs  Two countries gave specific comments on the specific drugs available in their countries.

9. Other Activities  National Accounts Workshop  Countries still using 1968 SNA to review the extension of the asset boundary by the reclassification of outlays on dual-purpose military assets software & mineral exploration from intermediate consumption to GFCF & if are found to be significant, countries should adopt the 1993 recommendations both in their official NA & in the expenditure weights to be used for ICP2005.  Conducted on 15-17 February to provide guidance on estimating expenditure weights & to exchange information & experience among the participants.

10. Other Activities  National Accounts Workshop  Discussed & agreed on how to fill up data gaps & disaggregate data into the required BHs.  17 countries gave preliminary GDP weights for private final consumption expenditures based on latest data available. Revised figures to be sent by 3 March. RO will assist other countries for the computation of expenditure weights.  Countries need to look at a number of items (e.g. own consumption of crops and livestock products, smuggled goods, etc.) to be included in the NA to ensure comparability of GDPs.

11. Other Activities - Comments on the Education SPDs ICP Heading Additional Price-Determining Factors/Comments Pre-primary & primary educationAge of child; membership in the institution; level Secondary educationLevel Tertiary educationResident or not/origin; 3 or 4 year degree; principal subject Other education programsSpecific language level; duration of lessons Day care and early childhood care Specify the type of staff (e.g. trained nurses, general staff, etc.) Music CourseSpecify musical instrument; duration of lessons; add music theories as an option Education SPDs in generalQuantity/packaging and Seasonal availability irrelevant for education. Not certain on how “Number of children in family enrolled” relates to pricing. Difficult to obtain information from the price surveys for “Reliability of service”.

12. ToolPack (TP) Matters  GO funded the purchase of 26 CPUs given to 17 countries. TP 1.1 was tested in all CPUs before being sent to the countries. TP is installed only in these CPUs in most countries.  Problems encountered by the ADB ICP staff regarding TP 1.2 have been communicated with the GO.  A number of countries have completed the first round of surveys & are ready to submit their data to the RO. An urgent request is being raised on the need for training ADB staff on TP 1.2, especially on data validation procedures and data analysis & additional training for countries.

13. ToolPack (TP) Matters  More direction is requested from the GO for data validation to ensure that all the regions adopt the same data validation procedures in TP. A detailed step-by- step guide, in addition to Chapter 7 of the ICP Handbook, is strongly recommended.  Hong Kong, China; Malaysia; Taipei,China; Thailand; Vietnam; Brunei; Iran; & Macao will use their CPI/other systems for data entry. The RO needs to introduce the Batch Utility program to the countries & wait for their feedback.

14. THANK YOU