Markets are skittish, prone to starting at shadows or gorging themselves on rumours. Is China’s ‘counter-cyclical bounce’ just the latest piece of scuttlebutt to affect the currency or is the writing on the wall?
If traditional industries are the ground troops in the looming conflict, cross-border e-commerce platform Youkeshu is China’s militia. Its CFO talks trade warfare, hedging strategy and bank relationships.
A 20% reserve requirement set by Chinese regulators on dollar/Rmb forward contracts has an instant impact. As predicted, futures contracts are moving offshore.
Notional cash pooling avoids the physical transfer of foreign exchange, reducing FX risk. The US tech manufacturer's Yvione Zhou explains how it works in Asia.
China's decision to reduce bank reserve requirements, the third such move this year, surprised no one. But the timing and nature of the latest cut are clearly linked to the risk of a trade war.
As cash-strapped banks offer high rates for long-term deposits, a wise treasurer tell CT he's sticking to one-month deposits. After all, rates can only go up as liquidity is squeezed further.
Some of the world’s top companies – also including Roche, GE and others – join Swift’s global payment initiative pilot. But whether other “Swift corporates” will be able to go GPI-active remains to be seen.
While today's technology makes it possible to process payments instantly, deep-rooted issues such as reconciliation, AML, compliance and FX seriously hamper banks’ abilities to evolve.