The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday opened an office in Thailand to serve as a hub for its activities in the Mekong River sub-region and to help launch Asian bonds. "Bangkok will actually perform an important regional role for the bank, and be a forum for our dialogue with Thailand as a member of the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS)," said Raja Nag, director general for ADB's Mekong Department. The Mekong region comprises Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam and southern China - or the six countries through which the Mekong River flows. Thailand is the most economically developed of the Mekong sub-region countries. "There is a wide range of skills and knowledge Thailand offers to the international community that we hope to take advantage of in helping poorer countries," said Jassem Ahmed, ADB's chief Thailand economist. ADB will also use its new Bangkok office to help Thai authorities launch the region's first Asia bond, expected to be issued sometime in the first quarter of this year. "The region is a net saver and yet the mobilization of regional savings does not always find its way into the regional investment market," noted Nag. Thailand has been at the forefront of regional efforts to launch Asian bonds, a movement that started in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis as an effort to bring greater stability to Asian financial markets. "We see Thailand playing a very important role in this as well," said Nag. ADB, set up in 1966, has its regional headquarters in Manila. Nag insisted that the establishment of a new office in Bangkok would not detract from Manila's importance as a center for its activities. "It will not in any way diminish the presence we have in Manila," said Nag. "We see this as an enhanced operation for the bank rather than a zero-sum game away from Manila and into Bangkok."
