Asia's economies are under threat of inflation stemming from high fuel and food costs, and containing it is an immediate challenge for the region if sustainable growth is to be maintained, an Asian Development Bank executive said earlier this month.
"We believe that inflation is the cruelest tax for the poor," Rajat M. Nag, ADB's managing director general, said in a recent interview in Tokyo. "The important thing is if we do not control inflation, the gains of growth will be interrupted by the increases of prices. So I think the immediate challenge of Asia is to contain inflation."
Nag was in Japan earlier this month to discuss the ADB's long-term vision for poverty reduction with government officials.