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Malaysia has emerged from the Asian crisis to find itself occupying a lower place in the regional pecking order. From being one of the must-have equity markets for foreign investors, it has become an also-ran. Domestic equity demand is also depressed and it’s likely that in the near future bond markets will offer more interest.

Turks are responding enthusiastically to the high-pressure promotion of internet access. So far, though, there’s not much money to be made from the business. Access providers will soon have to reconsider their cultural aversion to business consolidation, or else think smaller.

Vietnam’s newly created stock market boasts only five stocks, yet one foreign investor reckons its dematerialized system is far superior to London’s. Strong economic growth rates are attracting direct and portfolio investors. Enthusiasts reckon valuations are at their lowest and likely to rise before long.

Three years after the Asian financial crisis confidence has still not returned to the area. Many investors are sceptical that these countries have done enough to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Singapore’s deputy prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, outlines the changes that have been taking place in his country and his vision for the future.

The world's largest non-sovereign borrowers made further efforts to position their bonds as alternatives to increasingly rare sovereign issues in 2000. Futures on US agency bonds began trading, borrowers stuck to calendars in volatile markets and embraced the internet.

Doing business with politicians is a wretched business, as independent power producers in the Indian subcontinent have learnt lately.

It's easy to be pessimistic about Asia now the US is slowing. US growth and imports helped Asia rebound from the crisis in 1998. In 1999, Asian finance ministers proclaimed to the IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington that exports had kick-started growth - Korea's economy grew by 7% in 1999, following a 5.8% decline in 1998; Thailand's grew by 4% after a 10% fall in 1998. Huge current account surpluses restored currency reserves to healthy levels, rebuilding sovereign creditworthiness despite the assumption of huge contingent liabilities from derelict banking systems.

As Seoul Bank faces being dragged into the government's financial holding company, CEO Kang Chungwon explains how he plans to get the bank back on track.

Russia never seems to play by the same rules as the rest of us. Its macroeconomic indicators for 2000 were the country's best in 30 years. The economy grew by somewhere between 7% and 8%; tax reforms - part of a wide-ranging economic reform plan - helped the government record a fiscal surplus of 3% of GDP, after many years of high deficits; the strong oil price helped Russia to rebuild its foreign currency reserves to $28 billion. Leading Russian companies took steps to improve their dismal record of abusing minority shareholder rights, under pressure from a government that understands the urgent need to attract foreign investment. The government itself concluded a renegotiation of commercial debts with the London club of private sector creditors in August 2000.

Babur Ozden discusses prospects for the Turkish Internet sector.

Japan’s ministry of finance has lost face in the past decade as an arbiter of business development. The complexities of market growth have overwhelmed it, the collapse of a Liberal Democratic monopoly has removed its political underpinnings and scandalous revelations have been made about its corrupt practices. Now it has lost its traditional name. Despite the rise of rivals such as the Financial Services Agency and attempts by politicians to bypass MoF’s budget functions it’s far from clear who is in charge.

"The boys have made a mess of it," mused Brian Winterflood, chairman of Winterflood Securities, on hearing the news of the appointment of Clara Furse as the first woman chief executive in the 228-year history of the London Stock Exchange, "so why not let the girls have a go?"