Asia Pacific

Record profits and fines, a big loss in Indonesia, Citi’s retail departure and a once-in-a-generation merger: it has been a strange year for Taiwan’s over-crowded banking sector.

From an opening with just two stocks, in a little over two decades Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange has risen to a $200 billion market capitalisation.

As Vietnam’s public markets become more accessible, what happens to those who have built their success in private markets?

The country may soon be upgraded to the emerging market indices. But such are the market’s many anomalies, that the pioneers who first embraced its potential are still the ones that matter most today.

With Goldman and AmBank behind it, Malaysia aims further afield with lawsuits.

Barclays’ Asia investment bank is rebuilding after a traumatic restructuring in 2016. After a few years of steady growth, a more focused approach could make it more efficient than before.

Investors in a faith-based asset look forward to higher highs and higher lows, even as regulators crack down once more.

The two banks plus Singapore’s stock exchange and sovereign wealth vehicle believe they have the collective strength and skills to build Climate Impact X, based initially on southeast Asian forestry and mangrove projects.

Years of tough but successful IMF-led reforms have put Egypt in a great place to rebound strongly from Covid. Its future will be shaped by big infrastructure projects and by a plan to transform the nation into a powerhouse of green finance.

Merger shows Indonesia e-commerce coming of age, but can the financial services assets be combined?

The US bank’s decision to hire 2,300 new staff across its Asia wealth franchise, including 1,000 in Hong Kong alone, underlines the strength of the region and CEO Jane Fraser’s clear push in private banking.

Upstart Jarden has fine people; Nomura has network and balance sheet. Will a partnership work?

With Greensill and Archegos, António Horta-Osório has more on his plate than a medieval King. But Credit Suisse’s new chair could do something that would placate doubters and please investors: pivot firmly to Asia.

In retreating from onshore private banking in south Asia’s largest market, Citi is following the money, as it seeks to serve the rising number of Indian families fast transferring personal wealth overseas to bigger and more stable markets they know and trust.

Australian lender serves up word soup along with first-half results.

There are hopes that the innovation will assist with financial inclusion. But is gold ownership the way to achieve this?

Kentaro Okuda had been delivering. Nomura was reporting strong and sustainable profits, with a streamlined international business driven by trading in the Americas. Then came Archegos.

The Japanese bank has spent big money to hire a wealth management team, but spiralling costs and a lack of name recognition in key markets leave many asking: how realistic are its ambitions?

2020 was a breakout year for China’s financial and capital markets. The next 12 months could be just as busy, as regulators rush to approve a host of licences lodged by global financial institutions.

DBS’s deal to buy 13% of a young and privately owned bank in Shenzhen highlights not only China’s vast growth opportunities post-Covid but also the potential of the cross-border Greater Bay Area.

Anthony Tan’s 60% control of the Singaporean fintech’s voting power shows what founders can get away with when spared the rigour of an IPO.

Jane Fraser’s decision to exit 13 Asian and EMEA retail markets makes sense if the capital is redeployed in better businesses. But has Citi forgotten the power of the Asian consumer and what they will become?

With Deutsche Bank apparently turning its fortunes around globally, expectations are high for Asia to deliver growth at the fastest rate of all its operations. Asia CEO Alex von zur Mühlen tells Euromoney he wants to use the bank’s footprint and diversity of revenues to get the job done.

JPMorgan’s blockchain units have launched a new validation solution called Confirm. It is another small step towards mainstream use of the technology in payments.

Corporates have a variety of tools at their disposal when it comes to getting around regulatory restrictions relating to cross-border liquidity and currency management.

Francesco de Ferrari gave up a plum private banking job at Credit Suisse to take over troubled AMP. It was always a tough ask. Personnel mis-steps did not help, but in the end there was not going to be much of a business left for him to run.

Buying a 10% stake in China Merchants Bank’s wealth management arm for $415 million gives JPMorgan greater access to China’s vast private wealth market. It is a deal that benefits both parties, and underscores JPMorgan’s quiet but concerted success story in Asia’s largest economy.

A pivotal US banker in coup-stricken Myanmar goes offline as his bank is engulfed by crisis.

The Indonesian Investment Authority is the world’s newest sovereign wealth fund. Its chief executive and the chair of its supervisory board, who is also the minister of finance, explain why the fund will do more than just raise money – and why the ghost of 1MDB is never far away.

Outwardly different, Singapore and Dubai have transformed themselves into international wealth management hubs, overseen by clear-minded regulators. They are now starting to compete for business with Europe’s far older private wealth centres.