Features

The Korean government and the central bank will have their work cut out for them in 2023. They must overcome a loss of trust and criticisms over raising rates too quickly if they want to keep the economy humming and avoid a new crisis.

Being stuck between Russia and China has never put more pressure on Mongolia than in the past year. But the authorities and banks are making the best of a near-impossible situation – and succeeding in the process.

From 1990s economic superstar to jail and now finally to the top job, Malaysia’s prime minister has had an extraordinary political journey. Now that Anwar Ibrahim is finally the boss, can he fix Malaysia’s many problems?

The Kazakhstan central bank’s reliance on an oversimplified toolbox to combat rising inflation could threaten its economy in the longer run. Seeking out alternatives and reassessing monetary policy is now more urgent than ever.

TMB Bank boss Piti Tantakasem gamed out everything in his careful pursuit of Thailand’s Thanachart Bank. Then came Covid to help him bed down the deal.

Afghanistan’s economy is in a mess. After the Taliban took back control of the country in August 2021, the US froze the central bank’s foreign reserves. Can an unassuming Afghan-American economist secure the release of these funds so that the economy can recover?

Vietnam’s latest digital bank Cake is the talk of the town and has attracted more than 1.5 million customers in just over a year. Now, its chief executive wants to challenge banks in southeast Asia.

UOB’s penchant for acquisitions to expand its Asean franchise is paying off handsomely in Thailand, where the bank is preparing for an even bigger boom to its business.

After more than a decade of working to achieve big things in Malaysia, Hong Leong Bank is increasingly thinking small as it steers its business towards supporting startups.