Editorial

Acclimatising to rising trade tensions

As the Year of the Wood Snake beds in, trade tariffs and the looming spectre of trade wars are creating a challenging operating environment. Actions by the Trump administration could disrupt global supply chains and stifle economic growth in many countries, encouraging Asian corporates to relocate production closer to home.

Our main feature examines how supply chain clusters are increasing intra-regional trade, which present opportunities as well as challenges. Many treasurers are taking advantage of advanced technologies like APIs and blockchain to enhance cross-border transparency and efficiency.

In the Taiwan country profile, we look at treasurers’ response to recent global headwinds. “We have focus on strengthening our risk management framework to mitigate currency and interest rate risks, which can be particularly challenging in an environment of fluctuating global markets,” says Jenny Ho, Senior Vice-President, Finance Department at FENC, a textile conglomerate.

Our Women in Treasury profile features Isha Goel, Head – Treasury Settlements APAC, Mercedes-Benz Research & Development India, who is a strong proponent of continuous learning. “Treasury is an evolving field, and things can change very quickly,” she advises. “So keep yourself updated, but at the same time, define your career path and your goals.”

In the Corporate View, Nestlé India’s Rahul Jagga talks about his current role as Treasury Lead, which includes responsibility for managing treasury strategy for India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He explains how the company is driving sustainability by supporting its dairy farmers.

Recruitment is always high on the agenda, as attracting the best talent is often a struggle. However, according to specialist recruiters, currently there is a shortage of roles, not a shortage of talent. As such, senior treasury professionals are finding it harder to take the next step up the career ladder. A growing trend is treasury professionals moving to private equity spin-offs and smaller companies that are setting up treasury functions from scratch.

David Rowe, Group Treasurer at Worley, the Australian resources and energy group, outlines the key factors he considers when assessing applicants, such as experience in managing key stakeholders and how they will integrate into the team to build and improve performance.