Paul Golden

The distinct north-south split that has defined Asian currency markets in the second half of 2025 is set to continue into next year, according to market experts.

The desire for greater visibility of funds is accelerating the evolution of cash pooling structures across the region. India and China are promoting themselves as locations for such activity. CT spoke with several bankers and treasurers to discover strategies.

In a volatile economic climate, corporates require a compelling proposition to persuade senior treasury professionals to move on from often comfortable and well-remunerated positions. Experts talked to CT about recruitment drivers in the region.

Corporate treasurers in the region are increasingly leaning on technology to improve their predictive capabilities, including interacting with other departments, utilising ERP and AI.

Many Asian corporates, such as Tata International, are taking a leading global role in trade finance digitisation as they look to boost balance sheets and ensure continued access to credit.

Despite operating in challenging market conditions, loan issuers in Asia continue to support companies across multiple sectors, such as aviation and telecommunications, in their quest to access sustainable finance; CT spoke to corporates and banks about the landscape.

Despite a tentative US, China deal, uncertainty around tariffs has increased demand for trade finance products from Asian corporates, as firms look to reroute supply chains, derisk and improve working capital.

Corporates may be increasingly aware of how more efficient FX trading can impact liquidity management, but apathy remains a major obstacle to the better execution of trades; CT spoke with experts in the space.

The so-called ‘BRICS Bridge’ project may have stalled, but efforts to undermine the primacy of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency have received a boost from an unlikely source; although any path to a true alternative will be long and difficult.

A swift change in tone from US president Donald Trump around tariffs show how his words and actions are having a volatile impact on Asia Pacific's currencies; they are likely to be on the defensive this year.

The increased digital capabilities of regional banks has increased competition for treasury centre investment across Asia as less established locations look to take business from Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Debt capital markets’ traditional resistance to change continues to hold back deployment of blockchain technology in terms of both bond issuance and post-trade processing.