Financing Development Cooperation in Northeast Asia

Infrastructure connectivity in Northeast Asia — comprising the northeastern People’s Republic of China, Japan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and the Russian Far East — has been hindered by limited intergovernmental cooperation. The paper finds that total infrastructure investment needs for Northeast Asia excluding Japan and the Republic of Korea (in transport, energy, information and communication technology, and the environment) could be $63 billion per year over the next 10 years. Of this total, $13 billion would have to be mobilized every year from external sources. The paper considers three options to fund these needs in addition to traditional financing by bilateral and multilateral agencies: (i) special and/or trust funds newly set up in existing multilateral development banks (MDBs), (ii) a structured infrastructure investment fund supported by MDBs, and (iii) a new subregional multilateral development bank. It suggests that the first two have potential, but recommends against establishing a new development bank.