The important resources required for investment in special machinery and testing equipment as well as the long gestation period involved in capitalizing such investments have evidently discouraged the entry of domestic companies. In addition, the technology is largely controlled by a few large transnational corporations, and difficulties in adapting and assimilating this technology to local conditions within the framework of licensing agreements have not provided incentives to domestic manufacturers to move into the production of more sophisticated equipment.
A survey of regional power requirements for the developing regions of Asia showed that average reserve capacity (the margin by which installed capacity exceeds maximum demand for electricity) decline across the region from 68% in 1985 to 21% in 1991. It also identified an almost 50% undercapacity in 1993 electricity generation capability when compared with projected needs in 1998. The World Bank estimates that in the 1990s alone, developing Asia countries will require about $455 billion to expand power supplies to keep up with surging demand for electricity.