OECD - Asian Roundtable on Corporate Governance. Perspectives on How Improving Corporate Governance Frameworks Can Support Capital Market Development - 2017

Countries Involved:

Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar.

Project Description:

Established in 1999, the OECD-Asian Roundtable on Corporate Governance serves as a regional forum for exchanging experiences and advancing the reform agenda on corporate governance while promoting awareness and use of the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance.

In this assignment, MKE conducted in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders, produced and presented a Report on Sharing Perspectives on How Improving Corporate Governance Frameworks Can Support Capital Market Development in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar.

State Government of Victoria (Australia) - International Education Opportunities in Vietnam - 2016

Project Description:

The South East Asia Victorian Government Business Office (SEA VGBO) seeked to commission a project to scope international education barriers and opportunities in Vietnam for Victoria State’s universities and education service providers. Vietnam was identified as a priority market for the Victorian international education sector. Vietnam was Victoria’s third largest source market for international students and Victorian education providers were keen to build on these links to secure offshore partnerships and projects with the Vietnamese government, education institutions and industry.

Because of Victoria’s early involvement in education in Vietnam, the State was well placed to build on initiatives such as the Vietnamese Government’s proposed investment in VET reform. To appropriately and effectively meet demand for education services in Vietnam, a renewed and targeted effort in-market was required. In particular, there was a need to better understand the policy and regulatory environment, barriers to market access, the scope of business and partnership opportunities, and options for a future in-market Victorian Government presence.

Institute of Social Studies (Erasmus University of Rotterdam) - Stock-take on CSO Development Effectiveness and Enabling Environment (Global Partnership) - 2016

Project Description:

The Task Team on CSO Development Effectiveness and Enabling Environment (TT) had committed to implement Global Partnership Initiative 12 (GPI-12), as reflected in the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) Mexico Communiqué. The Indicator Two monitoring approach would ideally involve completion of a questionnaire, in a multi-stakeholder fashion, at country level.

The process was to be led by country government National Coordinators, with the participation of Focal points from different stakeholder groups. MKE was responsible to ensure the questionnaire contains four modules reflecting the CSO Enabling Environment Framework, inclusive of:

i) space for multi-stakeholder dialogue

ii) CSO development effectiveness

iii) official development cooperation with CSOs

iv) the legal and regulatory environment for CSOs.

For the GPEDC’s 2nd round monitoring report, findings from country monitoring would be complemented by desk studies.

HelpAge International - Baseline Survey: Dry Zone Social Protection - 2016

Project Description:

The purpose of this assignment was to design a baseline survey and an index related to social protection, analyse the data collected and produce a baseline report.

Project activities led to two project outcomes: poor households had expanded access to community assistance in times of stress, and vulnerable groups had greater income security. The project outcomes would contribute directly to the following Dry Zone programme outcome defined by LIFT: The basic needs of poor households in the target villages were met through effective social protection interventions. MKE participated in this assignment to assess the context and to enable us to measure change in the project indicators, as well as vulnerability and social protection more generally over the course of the project.

MKE also served a wider purpose by providing information for LIFT, other practitioners and government regarding the situation in the Dry Zone. The locations of the project were 30 villages in each of six target townships and the total number of target villages is 180.

An overseas private firm - Natural gas’s substitute fuels in Vietnam: market research into the scope of supply for the industrial sector - 2016

Project Description:

The Client wished to understand the market of key substitute products of natural gas in order to develop comprehensive understanding on the big picture of fuel supplying market in Vietnam. Therefore, the client commissioned a study on the goal of outlining macro perspective of some fuel sources, how each market function as well as profiles of the key suppliers.

There were a number of fuels subjected to the study, including: Fuel Oil, LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas), Coal and Biomass (woodchip, rice husk and cashew oil). MKE Team conducted the desk research to review the current situation of the Vietnam market in the field of fuel processing industry, and in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders of each sub-industry; and wrote the report.

International Labour Organization (ILO) - The next generation of people, firms and work in ASEAN: Preparing enterprises for the future of labour markets (in 2025) - 2015

Countries Involved:

ASEAN Member States.

Project Description:

Mekong Economics provided a Team to conduct a survey with businesses operating in the 10 ASEAN member States, in which 900 interviews with firms in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia and on-line survey with 3,000 firms from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

The survey aimed at understanding the future of work in ASEAN as well as looking at how prepared companies are to absorb the future workforce. Key respondents to the enterprise-level survey would include human resources managers as well as those involved in strategic planning and decision-making

ASEAN Secretariat - Scoping Study of Outsourcing in ASEAN - 2014

Countries Involved:

Ten ASEAN member states.

Project Description:

The project conducted an assessment of the ASEAN regional production network and ASEAN’s role in the global supply chain. It involved:

a)   a stock take and a characterisation of the offshoring/outsourcing activities in the region;

b)   an assessment of the trends and developments in outsourcing both in goods and services within and outside the region, particularly in developed countries as well as in the BRICS countries.

This consulting opportunity was to support these activities with the overall goal of enhancing ASEAN’s approach/strategy towards the creation of a single market and production area and a strong presence in the global supply chain, as well as increasing the role of small and medium enterprises in the regional production process.

Castalia Advisors - National Electrification Program: Preparation of Road map and Investment Financing Prospectus - 2013

Project Description:

In January 2013, the Government of Myanmar adopted an ambitious target to achieve universal electrification by 2030. To achieve this goal, the inter-ministerial National Energy Management Committee (NEMC), intended to develop a National Electrification Program (NEP), setting out the framework for expanding electricity access in Myanmar.

The World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program was working on behalf of the Government to prepare the program. It had contracted specialist firms to prepare the necessary (a) geospatial least-cost rollout plan and (b) the financial road map and investment prospectus. MKE’s involvement only concerned part (b).

MKE was working with Castalia, an advisory firm specialising in governance and regulation of infrastructure services, to prepare the ‘NEP Road Map and Investment Financing Prospectus’. The NEP Road Map would set out the key interim actions and targets, and would define the institutional framework required to implement the program in the least-cost manner. The Investment Prospectus would identify the viability gap, based on an understanding of Columbia University’s least-cost geospatial plan and reasonable tariffs than can be charged. It would then recommend potential funding sources. This Investment Prospectus would be used by the Government to attract financing and funding for achieving universal electrification by 2030. MKE helped to collect, verify and explain relevant data to Castalia, while providing relevant electricity sector related updates and a local insight on specific Castalia outputs through reviews and editing.

Transaction Centre III (BIDV) - The Third Rural Finance Project – Final Socio-economic Impact Assessment Review - 2013

Project Description:

The Development Objective of the Third Rural Finance Project (RF) was to increase economic benefits for rural private enterprises and households by improving their access to finance. The expected outcomes included:

(i) improved access to financial services for rural entrepreneurs

(ii) increased capital investment made by the rural entrepreneurs as well as increased employment

(iii) increased lending, particularly term lending to the rural private sector for capital investment by all participating financial institutions (PFIs) on market-based terms. The RF III was implemented within a period of five years (2009-2013) on the wholesale mechanism with BIDV as the Apex Bank, wholesale project fund to participating financial institutions and micro financial institution (PFIs) and those PFIs would on-lend the loan to end borrowers at rural areas.

Mekong Economics had accomplished a number of activities which consisted of the implementation of a survey of more than 400 end-borrowers, in-depth interviews with more than 40 individuals representing the PFIs and other related agencies, data analysis, reporting and presentation of findings to relevant stakeholders.

The EU Delegation to Vietnam - BLUE BOOK 2013: Poverty reduction and inequalities in a Middle Income Vietnam - 2013

Project Description:

The annual Blue Book published by the EU Delegation provided an overview of the EU development cooperation activities in Vietnam. The Book included one chapter presenting the year theme of actuality in the development debate in Vietnam since 2010. The theme chosen for the Blue Book 2013 was Poverty Reduction and Rising Inequalities in a Middle Income Vietnam.

The assignment aimed to produce a high quality paper which reflected the socio-economic performance, challenges and opportunities from its change from low income country to low middle income country, defined options to avoid the middle income trap, as well as specifies support solutions to overcome.