"(Governments) have to take these anti-corruption measures as part of broader good governance policy. That is very important," the chief of the ADB's strategy and policy office, Yoshihiro Iwasaki, told Reuters Television.The policy report was issued on the first anniversary of the Thai baht depreciation which triggered the as yet unresolved Asia crisis.

Last month, Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said that charges of corruption and crony-capitalism were only excuses to attack the economies of Asian countries.

But Iwasaki insisted the new policy, worked on for much of this year, had strong support from member countries.

"It is not just corruption but in general terms the ability of government to be efficient and transparent and accountable. Definitely anti-corruption effortswill increase the credibility of governments in these key areas," he said.

The Asia crisis has pushed the issue to the core of the development agenda and it will not go away as soon as the region's economies start to recover, he said.

"(Focus on the issue) will continue for at least the next 10 years. I think that is a sufficiently long time to pass the point of no return. The situation is such that they can no longer reverse the economic reform process, which means it will be difficult to reverse the anti-corruption policy."

The 29-page document made no attempt to estimate the total cost of graft to the region.

But it noted, for example, that Pakistan has estimated it loses $50 million a day in corruption and mismanagement. The Philippine government calculates $48 billion was swallowed up by corruption in the last 20 years, more than its entire foreign debt. Other studies have shown some governments pay up to 100 per cent more than they should because of corrupt procurement practices.

The ADBpolicy focuses on three objectives -- Supporting competitive markets and a transparent and efficient public administration; supporting specific efforts to fight corruption; and ensuring its own staff and projects conform to the highest ethical standards.

The bank will focus on ways to reduce the scope of direct government intervention in the economy and so reduce the opportunity for corruption. It will also support improvements in the administration and management of the public sector.