Statistical business register (SBR) is a register of enterprises or establishments involved in a business activity that is maintained by the National Statistical Office (NSO) or other parts of National Statistical System (NSS). SBR is closely linked to business registry/ies. Business registries facilitate registration of businesses as per regulatory requirements of the country and may be residing in different geographical locations, ministries or regulatory authorities.  SBR on the other hand is usually centralized in the NSO and draws on the information from these registers, assembled into a directory of businesses which is then used to draw sample and population data for conducting surveys and censuses to produce official statistics. SBR hence is of fundamental importance to the NSO for the compilation of official statistics in accordance with international standards and frameworks such as the System of National Accounts 2008. Aside from being used for the conduct of surveys, SBR is also used in reconciling and/or incorporating survey results with data from administrative sources such as that obtained from tax authorities and thus providing an improved basis for production of official statistics, which are vital inputs in policy/strategy formulation such as the of country partnership strategies and for monitoring MDGs.Many Developing Member Countries (DMCs) in Asia and the Pacific, with ADB support, are currently in the process of modernizing, strengthening and improving their business registries to improve the overall business environment and facilitate private sector development . Given the close link between the business registries and the SBRs, and the strong demand in the region for assistance in this area , there is an opportunity and a need to support DMCs in establishing and improving their SBRs. This technical assistance (TA)  will build on and complement the ongoing initiatives by ADB?s regional departments by strengthening the link between SBRs and business registers, ensuring that the information collected via business registries is optimized by the NSSs, and contributes towards improved coordination among relevant national agencies in the collection and compilation of data on small, medium (SME) and large enterprises. These efforts would aid in improving and expanding the statistical information on SMEs and large enterprises and reducing both costs and response burden. The design and monitoring framework is in Appendix 1.