Project Data Sheet
Project 50172-002
Project Data Sheet
Project 50172-002
| Project Name | Support to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Community | ||||||||||||
| Project Number | 50172-002 | ||||||||||||
| Country / Economy | Regional |
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| Project Status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Project Type / Modality of Assistance | Technical Assistance |
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| Source of Funding / Amount |
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| Strategic Agendas | Inclusive economic growth Regional integration |
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| Drivers of Change | Governance and capacity development Knowledge solutions Private sector development |
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| Sector / Subsector |
Finance / Finance sector development Industry and trade / Trade and services Public sector management / Economic affairs management |
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| Gender | No gender elements | ||||||||||||
| Description | |||||||||||||
| Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy | |||||||||||||
| Impact | A more dynamic and competitive region with single market and production base achieved |
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| Project Outcome | |
|---|---|
| Description of Outcome | Implementation of the AEC commitments in priority areas improved |
| Progress Toward Outcome | Implementing comprehensive competition policies and regulatory reforms in order to meet AEC targets is a priority. Support is being provided to the newly established Philippines Competition Commission to implement competition policy.Support has been provided to Cambodia to help establish an online registry portal at Cambodia's Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts as part of the ASEAN SME Action Plan.The TA also supported the Regional Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) Conference which was held last 12-13 September 2017, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The conference aimed to bring together leading RIA experts across the region to share lessons learnt and practical insights on the experience of implementing RIA in different countries; build a foundation of strong and sustainable RIA expertise and networks across the region; explore collaborative initiatives; and enhance the RIA national rollout program in Cambodia. |
| Implementation Progress | |
| Description of Project Outputs | Action plans and/or roadmaps to participate in the AEC prepared Capacity to implement the AEC Commitments in priority areas developed Monitoring and Evaluation of AEC implementation at the country level strengthened |
| Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) | April 2023: Under output 1, through the Knowledge Partnership Agreement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), reviews of regulatory practices in the Philippines and of local job creation in Indonesia were completed. A second partnership agreement was entered into in 2022 for the review of the merger controls in the Philippines. A high-level launch of this publication is proposed in Q2 2023. In addition, the TA has supported the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) with consultants that have provided expert advice on technical issues, including the review of the Philippine Competition Act. Furthermore, the TA organized a series of knowledge sharing workshops between the Indonesian financial services regulator, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) and the newly established Cambodia Non-Bank Financial Services Authority (NBFSA). NBFSA, which was formed following the restructuring of one of the general departments at the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia, requested ADB's support to help them collaborate with financial services regulators in the region by presenting their regulatory activities and sharing their experiences and challenges. Under the SkillsUpNet (SUN) Philippines Project, formerly the Enterprise Led Learning Network (ELLN) component, the Grant Handbook was finalized and published while the Standard Operating Procedure Handbook is being finalized. Two locations (cities or regions) per sector were identified to participate in the program for each of the four sectors. Benguet and Davao for the agribusiness sector; Manila and Cebu for the construction and IT-animation sectors; Bicol and Ilocos for the tourism sector; and Cagayan de Oro and Davao for the women-led enterprises sector. For each sector, two general orientation workshops were conducted between March and May 2022, followed by technical workshops between May and June 2022 to orient the networks on the grant application process. Invitations were sent to the networks to submit their applications for registration. Of the 20 networks successfully registered, 15 have submitted complete grant applications within the deadline. The grant awarding ceremony was held in February 2023 to the selected 5 networks. Implementation of the network's training program commenced in March 2023 and is expected to be completed by December 2023. The SUN Project is among the reforms under the proposed PHI Post-COVID-19 Business and Employment Recovery Program. The pilot of JobStart Indonesia (JSI) and Indonesia ELLN (ELLN) is ongoing. The Indonesia Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Road Map, which includes the Financing Strategy and Strategy for Accelerating Gender Mainstreaming for SDGs was finalized and launched. The Indonesia SDG Financing Hub Strategy (in English and Bahasa) was also finalized. For the labor market activation, Inno-Change International Consultants, Inc. was engaged through quality and cost-based selection method to support the pilot implementation of JSI at Bandung Barat and Makassar; and the IELLN at Bandung Barat, Makassar and Semarang.Under output 2, the TA supported the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Health Forum and the Renewable Energy and Waste-to-Energy Forum in the Philippines which brought local private and local government unit (LGU) stakeholders together. In addition, the TA supported the implementation of the Philippine PPP Center's LGU Strategy by preparing and structuring local PPP projects in priority sectors, including water and sanitation, solid waste management, and renewable energy. The TA also supported initiatives to develop innovative financing options for infrastructure and increase access to finance, and conducted the following capacity building trainings for the PPP Center, National Economic and Development and DOF: (i) Advanced Financial Modelling course to enable staff to build, modify, adapt and utilize financial models associated with PPP transactions; and (ii) Evidence in Public Policy course to equip staff with critical skills and knowledge to develop policies based on evidence and facts, and to properly evaluate the impact and monitor the implementation of the PPP Center policies. PPP experts have assisted the government on 14 projects (hospital, water supply, sewerage, infrastructure-related). On the innovative financing component, the TA supported the enabling framework for infrastructure project bonds in Viet Nam including preparing the PPP Law, the Financial Management Decree, and a project bond manual. The TA also supported due diligence on developing pilot project bond transactions, and other capacity building activities for the State Bank of Viet Nam. March 2021: The recruitment of the national consulting firm to support implementation of the Philippines' Enterprise-led Learning Network is ongoing. The firm is expected to be mobilized in Q2 2021. In Q4 2020, virtual workshops on Competition Economics for ASEAN Competition Authorities on Mergers and Abuse of Dominance were held in coordination with OECD. A publication produced under the Knowledge Partnership Agreement with OECD on Employment and Skills Strategies in Indonesia, was also published in Q4 2020.=====================Sept 2020: Under output 1, through the Knowledge Partnership Agreement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a review of regulatory practices in the Philippines and a review of local job creation in Indonesia were completed. The TA is supporting the design and launch of a new JobStart program and ELLN in Indonesia, building on the successful experience of the Philippines. In Cambodia, the TA has supported the operationalization of an online small and medium-sized enterprise portal under the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts, to extend targeted business-development support to these firms. The TA has also supported the development of good regulatory practices in Cambodia. In the Philippines, the TA supported strengthening of the Philippine Competition Commission through policy dialogue and advisory services on a range of issues. Two high-level roundtable discussions and forums on competition laws and policies were supported by ADB, and several capacity building activities are lined up. Recruitment of the consulting firm for the implementation of ELLN is ongoing and is at advertisement stage. Finally, at a regional level, the TA has supported an expert meeting on employment and skills strategies in Southeast Asia. Under output 2, which is the public-private partnership (PPP) component, the TA supported the PPP Health Forum and the Renewable Energy and Waste-to-Energy Forum in the Philippines which brought both local stakeholders and local government unit (LGU)s together. In addition, the TA supported the implementation of the Philippines PPP Center's LGU Strategy by helping prepare and structure local PPP projects in priority sectors, including water and sanitation, solid waste management, and renewable energy. Also, the TA has supported initiatives to develop innovative financing options for infrastructure and increasing access to finance. While the emergence of the COVID-19 and the enhanced community quarantine will likely delay some projects and training programs, LGU PPPs represent an added stimulus to support the recovery and so it is important for the PPP Center's work to continue. --------------Competition Policy experts were engaged to assist the Philippine Competition Commission in their review of issues related to the power and energy sectors, mergers and acquisitions, abuse on market dominance, quasi-judicial litigation and market studies.Forums on Fostering Universal Health Care through PPPs and Renewable Energy and Waste-to-Energy in the Philippines were organized last February and August 2019, respectively, to highlight the importance of PPP collaboration in the Health and Energy sectors. Consulting firm for Labor Market Activation pilots (Jobstart Indonesia and Employer-led Learning Network) commenced services in June 2019 and activities are on-going. Likewise, the Roadmap for SDG Indonesia will be launched in early-October 2019. |
| Geographical Location | Regional |
| Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects | |
|---|---|
| Environmental Aspects | |
| Involuntary Resettlement | |
| Indigenous Peoples | |
| Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation | |
| During Project Design | In the participating countries, the ADB missions met a number of ministries, departments and/or agencies with important roles in implementing the AEC, such as finance, commerce, trade, investment, planning, competition and skilled labor. |
| During Project Implementation | January 2020: On 29 January, a Roundtable Discussion with the Justices of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals of the Philippines, was organized by the Asian Development Bank, in cooperation with the University of the Philippines Law Center, Competition Law and Policy Program. This is a key pre-event to the 2020 Manila Forum on Competition in Developing Countries that took place on 30-31 January 2020. ===============The TA amount was increased from $2 million to $5 million, and the scope of the TA has been broadened to also cover the following: Enterprise-Led Learning Network for PHI, Public-Private Partnership for PHI, Achieving Sustainable Development Goals for INO, and regional innovative financing.================The member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are implementing the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025 to improve market integration and competitiveness. The ADB is supporting Cambodia, Lao PDR, the Philippines and Indonesia on this process through a RETA. ADB and the PCC meet regularly to discuss ADB support to implementation of competition policy, as one of the priority areas under the AEC. The RIA conference also help to discuss good regulatory practice with relevant stakeholders.ADB has also entered into a knowledge partnership agreement with OECD to undertake a labor market study in Indonesia to support employment and economic development within the context of the ASEAN Economic Community; and to organize capacity building workshops on economic techniques for staff of the Philippine Competition Commission on mergers, abuse of dominance position and cartel detection. |
| Business Opportunities | |
|---|---|
| Consulting Services | One consulting firm: -to provide services on strategy development, impact studies, and monitoring and evaluation. 1. 4 international consultants, 24 person-months; 2. 18 national consultants, 39 person-months Individual consultants: -to provide services related to competition policy and RIA 1. 5 international, 28 person-months; 2. 6 national, 40 person-months |
| Responsible ADB Officer | Ainabe, Benita |
| Responsible ADB Department | Sectors Group |
| Responsible ADB Division | Public Sector Management and Governance Sector Office (SG-PSMG) |
| Executing Agencies |
Asian Development Bank |
| Timetable | |
|---|---|
| Concept Clearance | 15 Aug 2016 |
| Fact Finding | - |
| MRM | - |
| Approval | 10 Nov 2016 |
| Last Review Mission | - |
| Last PDS Update | 28 Apr 2023 |
| Milestones | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
| Original | Revised | Actual | |||
| 10 Nov 2016 | - | 10 Nov 2016 | 31 Dec 2020 | 31 Dec 2023 | - |
| Financing Plan/TA Utilization | Cumulative Disbursements | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADB | Cofinancing | Counterpart | Total | Date | Amount | |||
| Gov | Beneficiaries | Project Sponsor | Others | |||||
| 5,000,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5,000,000.00 | 09 Sep 2023 | 3,927,029.07 |