Thailand

HSBC takes the best international bank award in Thailand thanks not only to its roster of clients and strong performance over the past year, but also the way it is positioning itself for further growth in the southeast Asian country.

Who would guess that there was a global health crisis going on from looking at the results of Thailand’s leading corporate and investment banks?

As the first woman to head up Kasikornbank since it was founded in 1945 – and the first from outside the ranks of the Lamsam family – Kattiya Indaravijaya has already secured a place in the bank’s history.

Women make up the majority of the workforce at banks in Thailand, but they still have a way to go before they are equally represented at the top of the banking ladder.

The 31st annual Asiamoney Brokers Poll invited chief investment officers, fund managers and investment analysts to take part. Voters represented fund management houses, hedge fund & private equity firms, insurance companies and wealth management houses in Asia, Europe and North America.

Thai fintech startup Finnomena has launched a digital wealth management platform aimed at the mass market. It’s the sort of innovation that is sorely needed in Thailand. But will it work?

The country’s banks have made impressive efforts to raise their digital game. But with the economy in trouble, bankers and regulators face some tough choices.

Bank of Ayudhya, or Krungsri as it is known locally, is Thailand’s fifth-largest bank measured by assets. But many analysts still regard the Bangkok lender, which is 72% owned by Japan’s MUFJ, as a rising star in the industry and a potential long-term rival to the big local players such as KasikornBank, Bangkok Bank or Siam Commercial Bank.