Episode 23: Treasury Today Asia’s Top Treasury Team 2020

This is our most prestigious and competitive award. Here we recognise any corporate treasury team that has made an outstanding contribution to its organisation over the past 12-18 months. This could be purely the treasury team, comprising several team members, or a broader team effort, involving many disciplines across the enterprise.

Overall Winner – Olam International Ltd., Jayant Parande, in partnership with Deutsche Bank, Citi, Standard Chartered, DBS and J.P. Morgan.

Highly Commended Winner – Grab Holdings Inc., Wilson Koh, in partnership with Kyriba and UOB.

Highly Commended Winner – HCL India, Vineet Sood, in partnership with Citi.

Episode 22: Best in Class Treasury Solution in India

To acknowledge the specific challenges of operating in this dynamic country, here we showcase treasuries in India that have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, a cash/liquidity management, card, trade/SCF, WCM/AP/AR, funding/ESG, FX, risk and/or technology/cyber security/fintech solution.

Overall Winner – Sanofi India, Somak Ghosh, in partnership with J.P. Morgan.

Highly Commended Winner – Visteon Electronics India Pvt Ltd, Jessica Cao and Ramalingam Rajasekar, in partnership with Bank of America.

Highly Commended Winner – Herbalife International India Pvt Ltd, Ajay Khanna, Uday Prakash and Vivek MP, in partnership with DBS.

Episode 21: Best Card Solution

Cards are no longer just a piece of plastic; corporate cards have become an integral part of the cash management set-up. Here we see how cards, including virtual cards, are being used to improve the T&E processes.

Overall Winner – Worley. Their partner HSBC speaks about their winning solution and collaboration.

Highly Commended Winner – New South Wales State Government. Their partner Citi speaks about their winning solution and collaboration.

Episode 20: Best Crisis Management Solution

This was a new category in 2020 to respond specifically to the challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to recognise the Herculean efforts that have been demonstrated as you respond to the demands of the new normal. There have been some extraordinary demonstrations of best practice that we feel deserve special recognition, this year including one company which switched its entire production facility in response to the crisis and another which deployed a QR code to help swab testing.

Overall Winner – ST Telemedia, Darren Chua, in partnership with Citi.

Highly Commended Winner – KPJ Healthcare Berhad, Norhaizam Mohammad, in partnership with HSBC.

Highly Commended Winner – Radico Khaitan, Dilip Banthiya, in partnership with DBS.

Highly Commended Winner – Samsonite China. Their partner J.P. Morgan speaks about their winning solution and collaboration.

Episode 19: Judges’ Choice

This is awarded by our judges to recognise a project or solution that demonstrates something particularly special, outside of our defined categories. It could be something not seen previously or, as is the case this year, an innovative response to the specific challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The response was quick, direct and urgently needed.

Overall Winner – Hetero Labs Limited, Dr. Vamsi Krishna Bandi, in partnership with Standard Chartered.

Episode 18: Best ESG Solution

This category looks across the range of the E, the S and the G. We focus on sustainable projects including the finance related to the mitigation of and/or adaptation to climate change/CO2 emissions as well as investment strategies which incorporate ESG/CSR factors and solutions which relate to the achievement of sustainability-linked KPIs.

Overall Winner – Agrocorp International, Vishal Vijay, Nitin Jain and Rahul Jain.

Highly Commended Winner – PNB Housing Finance Ltd. Their partner Citi speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration.

Highly Commended Winner – GE Capital, Paul English, in partnership with DBS.

Episode 17: Best Working Capital Management Solution

Efficient working capital is a key challenge for corporates of all shapes and sizes. This is all about improving key performance indicators of DPO, DSO, DIO, DWC and the cash conversion cycle.

Overall Winner – PTT Exploration & Production Public Co. Ltd., Anutra Bunnag, in partnership with Bank of America.

Highly Commended Winner – Sanofi S.A., Jackson Xu, in partnership with Citi.

Highly Commended Winner – PLDT Group. Their partner DBS speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration.

Episode 16: Harnessing the Power of Technology

Technology is a key component in many of the submissions we receive and this is always a hotly contested category. We see projects ranging from the use of APIs and RPA to full-blown treasury technology transformation involving TMS/ERP integration and much more.

Overall Winner – Alibaba.com, Issac Chen, in partnership with J. P. Morgan.

Highly Commended Winner – Dairy Farm, Leslie Chan and May Lee, in partnership with ION Group.

Highly Commended Winner – AMS Sensors Holdings Asia Pte Ltd, Arno Gruner, in partnership with Deutsche Bank.

Highly Commended Winner – Microsoft, David Meunier.

Episode 15: Best AP/AR Solution

Payables are key to any business. How do companies negotiate improved payment terms with their suppliers? We have seen an increase in the use of shared service centres and payment factories in recent years, and Payment-on-Behalf-of structures are a lot more common now. We also look at how companies manage their accounts receivables, including reconciliation. As with payments, we are now seeing Collection-on-Behalf-of structures emerging.

Overall Winner – Microsoft, Fanny Niu.

Highly Commended Winner – Chubb Insurance Australia Ltd, Gerard Sitaramayya.

Highly Commended Winner – Pontian Pei Chun Chinese Schools. Their partner UOB speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration.

Episode 14: Best Risk Management Solution

Risk continues to be top of every treasurer’s agenda, from foreign exchange risk, counterparty risk, commodity risk and interest rate risk to cyber risk, reputational risk and supply chain risk. It feels like corporates have never had more risks to manage, making this an ever- increasing critical responsibility for the treasury function.

Overall Winner – GE Capital, Manoj Sinha, in partnership with Bank of America.

Highly Commended Winner – China Unicom. Their partner J.P. Morgan speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration.

Episode 13: Best Liquidity Management Solution

Here we look at liquidity solutions such as cash pooling structures. Some are single country/single currency, whilst some corporates have implemented multi-country/multi-currency and even cross-currency arrangements which “follow the sun”, and one which goes ‘against the sun’ yet still respects value dating across time-zones.

Overall Winner – Ant Group, Kelvin Li, in partnership with J.P. Morgan.

Highly Commended Winner – General Electric, Amit Grover, in partnership with Citi.

Episode 12: Best Cyber-Security Solution

Cyber-security continues to be a major issue for companies of all shapes and sizes with most household names having been victims of cyber-crime past, present and future. We look here at how an organisation is mitigating the threat of a cyber-attack.

Overall Winner – Alibaba, Tian Tian Wang, Newson Liao and Jun Feng, in partnership with Citi.

Episode 11: Best Foreign Exchange Solution

This category looks at foreign exchange and solutions that have responded to the ever-evolving challenges this area poses to corporate finance professionals. From technology to new processes, change to a hedging strategy or a new FX requirement as a result of entering a new market or dealing with a new currency and/or client/supplier.

Overall Winner – Meituan-Dianping. Their partner J.P. Morgan speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration.

Highly Commended Winner – Medtronic, Tim Husnik, in partnership with Deutsche Bank.

Highly Commended Winner – Danone, Zurab Abutidze, in partnership with Citi and Kyriba.

Episode 10: Best Trade Solution

This category acknowledges the special relationship between buyer and seller. Letters of credit, guarantees and open account trading are common. We are now seeing much greater use of automation in traditionally paper-based processes. Blockchain is also seeing some traction in the trade space.

Overall Winner – BASF International Trading, Judy Zhang, in partnership with Citi.

Highly Commended Winner – ZTE Corporation, Sophie Xiao.

Highly Commended Winner – China Energy Engineering Group Shanxi Electric Power Engineering Co. Ltd., Dong Yue, in partnership with Standard Chartered.

Episode 9: First Class Relationship Management

This category incorporates any relationship (internal as well as external) managed by the treasury function, such as investor relations, employee relations, ratings agencies, procurement etcetera, in addition to the core bank(s)/other service provider(s) relationships. Economic turmoil and the recent coronavirus pandemic have certainly focused minds on the value of relationships.

Overall Winner – Cargill Asia Pacific Treasury Ltd, Nyet Sian Kiew, in partnership with Deutsche Bank.

Highly Commended Winner – Carlsberg Singapore Pte Ltd, Dawn Hoe, in partnership with Citi.

Episode 8: Best Fintech Solution

This category captures the emerging technology solutions. We have heard much about the fintech revolution, open banking, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, robotics, blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies. Some have moved beyond proof of concept and are now being used for real.

Overall Winner – SABIC Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Sylvia Hue.

Highly Commended Winner – Stanley Black & Decker India, Jessica Chan, in partnership with J.P. Morgan.

Episode 7: Best Funding Solution

Many corporates are exploring alternative sources of funding, diversifying and/or refinancing their funding sources. We see many different types of funding submitted here, from a diversified mix of funding to Panda and hybrid bonds.

Overall Winner – Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd, Colin Teo Whee Min, in partnership with Citi, DBS, J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered.

Highly Commended Winner – Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Noel Brady.

Highly Commended Winner – Capital Environment Holdings Ltd, Cao Guoxian.

Episode 6: Best in Class Treasury Solution in China

Here we showcase any treasury in the PRC that has implemented, or is in the process of implementing, a cash/liquidity management, card, trade/SCF, WCM/AP/AR, funding/ESG, FX, risk and/or technology/cyber security/fintech solution.

Overall Winner – Xiaomi Group, Lu Hao, in partnership with HSBC.

Highly Commended Winner – Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China. Their partner Citi speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration.

Highly Commended Winner – Littelfuse Inc, Janet Chong, in partnership with Bank of America.

Episode 5: Best Supply Chain Finance Solution

Trading internationally can be challenging. Cash flow issues can arise between paying suppliers and getting payment. From distributor finance, pre-shipment finance and receivables discounting to forfaiting, factoring and payables finance, we look at some of these SCF solutions.

Overall Winner – Honeywell, Freya Yao, in partnership with J.P. Morgan.

Highly Commended Winner – Petroliam Nasional Berhad. Their partner, UOB, speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration.

Highly Commended Winner – Li & Fung Ltd, Denis Savastano, in partnership with DBS.

Episode 4: Best Cash Management Solution

Any solution which demonstrates how the company manages/forecasts its cash is recognised here. It could be a simple single country/single currency/single bank solution, or a multi-country/multi-currency/multi-bank solution and might involve the use of an In-House Bank (IHB) or virtual accounts. Always a popular category amongst our corporate treasury universe.

Overall Winner – AVX Corporation, Doug Knebel, in partnership with J.P. Morgan.

Highly Commended Winner – Lear Corporation, Angela Li, in partnership with Citi.

Highly Commended Winner – General Mills, Christopher Emslie, in partnership with Deutsche Bank.

Episode 3: Best Short-term Investing Solution

In this category we showcase how companies have addressed the trade-off between yield, liquidity, cash preservation and counterparty risk. AAA-rated money market funds are frequently involved, with CNAV, VNAV or Low Volatility Net Asset Value (LVNAV) funds included.

Overall Winner – Ching Ling, Klook, in partnership with J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Episode 2: A Rising Star 2020

This category recognises talent coming through the corporate treasury ranks. The individual may have excelled in a professional qualification or may be a future Finance Director or CFO.

Overall Winner – Pulat Yunusmetov, Danone.

Episode 1: Treasury Today Asia Woman of the Year 2020

This category is open to any woman operating in the corporate treasury environment who can demonstrate real innovation, achievement and someone who is an inspiration in her current role.

Overall Winner – Tricia Ho-Hudson, Woolworths Group Ltd.

Highly Commended Winner – Rita Jiao, Beijing Didi Infinity Technology & Development Co Ltd.