A round-up of recent public finance news stories from Asia Pacific you might have missed.
As costs rise, Indonesian construction firms seek force majeure on government contracts
Work on billions of dollars worth of new roads, bridges, dams and power plants in Indonesia could soon come to a standstill unless the government takes emergency action to help construction firms cover rising production costs, an industry trade group said. (Reuters)
Australian union concerned over workload for remaining public servants
A peak union is concerned about the workload of state public servants who stay in their jobs, after a large number accept voluntary redundancies as part of Government measures to trim the Budget. (ABC)
Stakeholders' inclusion in Peshawar budget-making process urged
Participants in a seminar on ‘Analysis of Education and Health Budget’ of district Peshawar have stressed the need for participation of local community and relevant stakeholders in the budget-making process, urging the budgetary allocation should be made as per need-assessment basis in both education and health sector. (Business Recorder)
Malaysia Budget 2014: what's next?
Opinion: As expected, Budget 2014 included the announcement of the GST implementation, the reduction of subsidy (one item now but potentially more within the near future), and the announcement of various spending allocation to boost the Malaysian economy, all embedded within the Prime Minister’s "5 thrusts" framework, with the hope to improve the nation’s fiscal deficit. (Malaysian Insider)
'Abenomics' helped offset concerns over Fed tapering, Asia capital outflows: IMF
A significant increase in Japanese foreign direct investments and bank lending to many Asian countries, as a result of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's radical policy reforms, helped the region to counteract concerns about Fed tapering and related capital outflows, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. (Alliance News)
Thailand poised for $15bn of debt sales
Thailand plans to tap the capital markets for as much as $15bn in its biggest international round of debt sales for a decade. (Financial Times)
