In Focus

Branches of BEA and BoC among the eight cases that made 197 illegal transactions totaling $7.34bln.

But Woori's $10.56bln market cap and complex domestic laws seen as challenges to potential buyers.

Lenders have peaked after ICBC and BOC second quarter profit up 38% and 15% respectively.

Managed account platforms are fast gaining popularity among institutional investors looking to get exposure to the “good” risks of hedge funds investing.

Asset-liability management (ALM) issues facing life insurers in Asia have grown in depth and scale since the 2008 financial crisis. What are the options given that traditional ALM techniques are much less efficient in this post-crisis world?Life insurance policies are designed to provide peace of mind. Yet the business of selling policies is a big gamble these days for life insurance companies, confronted with asset-liability management (ALM) issues, notably those of duration gap, negative interest spread and balance-sheet volatility due to the spike in long-term volatility across most asset classes since the 2008 financial crisis.

One of the most obvious consequences of the credit crisis has been the reduced availability of external liquidity. Mario Tombazzi, Regional Head of Liquidity Product Management for Asia at HSBC, examines the lessons that have been learnt and the most effective responses.The recent and sudden contraction in available liquidity has prompted many treasuries to seriously reconsider their existing liquidity strategies. While much of this focus has inevitably been on fulfilling immediate needs, the situation also represents an opportunity to put in place structures that will deliver long term benefits in terms of return, flexibility and risk management.Treasurers who resist the temptations of a quick fix will be taking a major step towards ensuring the long term stability and profitability of their corporations.Liquidity risk is real – deal with itEvents of the past eighteen months have brought a widespread realisation that liquidity risk is just as real in terms of its impact on the corporation as credit or foreign exchange risk. In the past, companies with respectable credit ratings were able to tap seemingly limitless and inexpensive liquidity via issuance of commercial paper, notes or bonds – or turn to banks to take advantage of uncommitted facilities. This relaxed era is now most definitely over. In the current liquidity-constrained environment, it is vital to have a proper frame- work which can be used to mitigate liquidity risk; and in particular to make optimal use of internal liquidity, which has shot up in value.The basic starting point is complete visibility at the treasury level of all corporate cash, so that the cash position, funding requirements and investment transactions can be tracked in real (or near-real) time. Corporate cash must also reside within a mechanism that allows any idle balances to be used quickly and efficiently.In addition, the associated investment policy has to be robust, with all the appropriate risk parameters, checks and controls in place.

It’s three down, one to go. The Agricultural Bank of China, the sole unlisted bank in China’s ‘big four’ is set to launch its IPO and raise USD12 billion in the process, according to Bloomberg. But why does the bank want to go public in the midst of a global recession?