Strategy

US president Donald Trump is causing chaos this week across global markets with a spate of tariffs set to take effect in the US on April 2, against a wide range of goods; Goldman Sachs is predicting an extra US rate cut this year, amid stagflation fears.

Amit Chand was formerly CFO at TCNS Clothing, where he led treasury.

The pharmaceutical firm expects its workforce in Beijing to grow to 1,700 employees and is launching a JV with BioKangtai to help make vaccines; there is also investment into AI.

Jennifer Barker, global head of treasury services and depositary receipts at BNY, recently discussed cross-border and instant payments, collaboration, Swift, AI, trade finance, and more, with CT.

Retail sales and industrial output have beaten expectations for January and February, as China's leadership eyes 5% GDP growth again; meanwhile global suppliers are showing optimism for the year ahead, according to a survey.

Multiple payment fintechs have announced expanded offerings across Apac, reflecting a growing cross-border payment space that might challenge traditional players, especially for SMEs.

Nathan Goonan will replace Michael Rowland at Westpac, with Shaun Dooley set to step in as acting CFO at NAB.

DIng has been acting chief financial officer at the Chinese restaurant group since last year and previously helped the firm list in Hong Kong.

US inflation was lower than expected in February; the 2.8% read came as the US introduced global 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports; and then the EU and Canada retaliated; in Apac, Australian and Korean steelmakers are most at risk.

As Hong Kong looks to integrate more with Asean's economies, Thailand joins Indonesia and Singapore as a Recognised Stock Exchange in the Special Administrative Region.

Ben Brooks is replacing Brent Henley at the Sydney-headquartered traffic information firm, which, in addition to Australia, has operations in the UK, Canada and Brazil.

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.