Commentary

Many seasons have passed since we last talked about the readiness of Japan’s mighty finance houses to boldly go where few Japanese banks had gone before - overseas. Then, Daiwa Securities chief, Shigeharu Suzuki, was boasting of a 100b Yen commitment to regional investment, while Nomura announced its intention to acquire an Indian investment bank. Since those joyful days we have had the season of ‘Thanksgiving’ – when a summer of bad news such as failed bank, Northern Rock, finally gave way to another upsurge in global equity markets. Then came the season of ‘Panic’, after Bear Sterns famously imploded and speculation of who would be next spread like a fever.

Many seasons have passed since we last talked about the readiness of Japan’s mighty finance houses to boldly go where few Japanese banks had gone before - overseas. Then, Daiwa Securities chief, Shigeharu Suzuki, was boasting of a 100b Yen commitment to regional investment, while Nomura announced its intention to acquire an Indian investment bank. Since those joyful days we have had the season of ‘Thanksgiving’ – when a summer of bad news such as failed bank, Northern Rock, finally gave way to another upsurge in global equity markets. Then came the season of ‘Panic’, after Bear Sterns famously imploded and speculation of who would be next spread like a fever.

Many seasons have passed since we last talked about the readiness of Japan’s mighty finance houses to boldly go where few Japanese banks had gone before - overseas. Then, Daiwa Securities chief, Shigeharu Suzuki, was boasting of a 100b Yen commitment to regional investment, while Nomura announced its intention to acquire an Indian investment bank. Since those joyful days we have had the season of ‘Thanksgiving’ – when a summer of bad news such as failed bank, Northern Rock, finally gave way to another upsurge in global equity markets. Then came the season of ‘Panic’, after Bear Sterns famously imploded and speculation of who would be next spread like a fever.

Big-name foreign bank CEO’s can be forgiven for thinking Indonesian lenders are the best things since sliced bread. Maybank and HSBC in the space of a month, have both made big plays for Indonesian banks, PT Bank Internasional Indonesia and PT Bank Ekonomi Raharja. Just in September, Maybank shelled out over USD one billion for a 55 percent stake in Internasional. And in October HSBC purchased an 88.9 per cent stake in Ekonomi for USD 608 million.

ABN AMRO’s Timothy O’ Keeffe explains the challenges faced by corporate treasuries and recommends ways on how to achieve a more centralized and automated flow of information and investments.