The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has decided to set up a 100 billion JPY fund to support the improvement of transport systems and key utilities in other Asian countries.
The purpose of the Japanese government-led infrastructure fund would be to provide funds to countries that lack capital and the necessary support to maintain steady economic growth, Japan’s Yomiuri daily said on August 24.
The fund will also encourage Japanese companies to tap the growth of other Asian countries now that the domestic market in Japan has started to plateau due to the aging population.
The ministry plans to launch the infrastructure fund in fiscal 2010 with more than 100 billion JBY, and to then expand it. The ministry will set up an expert study group for the project in September that would be tasked with promoting the fund's speedy realisation.
Possible destinations of the infrastructure funds include Hanoi (Vietnam), Jakarta (Indonesia) and the regions that stretch from Chennai to Bangalore, two midsize cities in southern India, according to the paper./.