Paul Golden

A swift change in tone from US president Donald Trump around tariffs show how his words and actions are having a volatile impact on Asia Pacific's currencies; they are likely to be on the defensive this year.

The increased digital capabilities of regional banks has increased competition for treasury centre investment across Asia as less established locations look to take business from Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Debt capital markets’ traditional resistance to change continues to hold back deployment of blockchain technology in terms of both bond issuance and post-trade processing.

Digital negotiable instruments could improve working capital and attract liquidity from non-traditional sources, however implementation challenges demand a leap of faith on the part of corporates.

Complex pricing structures have forced treasurers to think long and hard about how they justify costs to senior management. In this second part of CT’s examination of the TMS, we focus on how flexible payment options can be applied to treasury services.

The utilisation of treasury management system functionality remains patchy in Apac, although corporates are 'shopping around' more. In this first part of our focus on the TMS, CT speaks to market experts about the rise of treasury services.

Tariffs, trade deficits, reshoring and investor sentiment will be under scrutiny come the November US election, whatever the outcome.

China is renowned for keeping its currency on a tight leash, however, a host of internal and external factors have the potential to weaken Beijing’s grip on the renminbi over the coming months.

Asian corporates may see themselves as global organisations, but also appreciate the merits of banking partners that understand the unique characteristics of their regional markets.

Domestic currency weakness may have provided a boost to Japanese and Korean exporters, but for the majority of corporates the lower value of the yen and won has been a negative development.

Sustainable finance should have a major role in closing the trade finance gap in Asia, but challenges around targeting and verification are causing disillusionment among corporates.

With the US dollar and the euro as the dominant billing currencies for many Asian companies, corporate treasurers need caution when assessing their options for mitigating FX volatility – and to keep an eye on changing exposures.