Features

Local firms have rapidly gone from being a reliable source of liquidity for dollar loans to taking a big step back from lending this year. The worst may be over, but cash is no longer king – caution is.

Street protests and a pandemic have forced Hong Kong’s bankers and investors to experiment with how they work and raise funds for clients – their innovations have been surprisingly successful and could well outlast the crises.

The bank has put international expansion at the centre of its strategy, and will not be deterred, despite a worsening trade war and the spread of the coronavirus.

Chinese issuers responded to Covid-19 by selling bonds that were designed to help fight the pandemic – in reality, only a fraction of the money raised was used to tackle problems created by the virus.

Family offices in China have grown from practically nothing 15 years ago to a hyper-competitive industry now. Zhang Yong, a former private banker who set up one of the country’s biggest multi-family offices, shows how the market has developed.

Banks in Bangladesh were struggling with poor performance even before coronavirus spread to the country; the pandemic is worsening the impact of a recent policy misstep.

Hong Kong’s status as Asia’s leading financial centre is being undermined by politics. Can it survive?

Uzbekistan’s state-owned banks dominate the local financial system; a mix of local, privately owned banks and eager foreign players are helping the country to open up, but it will not be easy.

Silk Capital is making a big bet on the liberalization of the country’s financial system – a crucial test case of international demand for the nation will be the boutique investment bank’s own offshore IPO.