Editorial

Asia Pacific – where next?

Whilst Brexit and the US presidential race have been dominating the headlines for most of the year, Asia has, for the most part, been quietly getting on with business. That isn’t to say that the region hasn’t been facing its own challenges, however.

China, for instance, remains a key area of focus and concern for businesses as the country continues to adjust to the “new normal” and morph into a domestic consumption and service-led economy. In this edition’s corporate view, Cefi Chen, Regional Treasury Director, China and Russia at Cummins provides a unique insight into what operating in this environment is like and why it may be time for the corporate treasury profession to make its mark.

Regulatory changes have also continued to provide a headache to treasurers operating in the region this year. From new accounting rules to more robust KYC obligations the rate of regulatory change is not relenting. For treasurers staying abreast of new regulations continues to be a challenge and is an area that has to be approached proactively. We speak to some of the region’s leading practitioners to analyse these develops and find some practical ways for treasurers to stay on top of the regulatory changes.

Both these articles are timely because China and regulation will certainly remain key areas of concern for corporate treasurers as we move into 2017. A keen eye will also be kept on how the region seeks to maintain its position as the growth engine of the global economy in light of subdued external demand and slowing global trade. Treasurers will, of course, also be wise to continue to closely monitor the changing technology landscape. Asia Pacific is a region ripe for digitisation and there are promising signs that treasurers may be reaping the full rewards of technology change very soon.

Congratulations to our winners

The winners of our 2016 Adam Smith Awards Asia, proudly supported by ANZ, have now been selected. The winning solutions reflect the array of talent that the region has to offer and it is not just the big companies that are excelling. Our judging panel commented on the calibre of each nomination and the difficultly in selecting the winners. In their view, this is the best set of nominations we have ever seen.

The full list of Winning and Highly Commended solutions can be viewed on our website. We will also profile all the winners in our 2016 Adam Smith Awards Asia Yearbook, published early next year.

Season’s greetings

Treasury Today Asia would like to thank you again for your continued support throughout the year. Next year we will continue to deliver the research, insight, and analysis that you have become accustomed to as well as introducing some new features that are designed to highlight the latest trends impacting the profession.

We wish you a wonderful festive period.