Singapore

The opening of its Singapore branch marks a major in implementing the international expansion strategy of China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited in building its franchise into a world-leading brand.

The lender expects the former Julius Baer banker the experience it needs to tap the booming private banking business in Southeast Asia.

The compensation landscape at financial institutions is undergoing dramatic change. New approaches to remuneration are being implemented to comply with changing regulations and drive long-term business success.

The banking industry has been getting a bad wrap in recent times, but is this scrutiny justified, and is working in banking now radically different to what it was when the industry afforded a much better reputation? Furthermore, are quality candidates really turning their back on the banking sector to pursue careers in seemingly more attractive industries?

Coface conducted a corporate credit risk management survey in China, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Over 1000 companies in mainland China participated in the survey. It reveals that great improvement in both credit sales and overdue payment among mainland China companies has been observed in industries such as building & construction, textile and clothing, automotive/transportation and household electric/electronics, which is largely due to the government’s stimulus package after over 1 year’s implementation. But this might not necessarily be good news for Singaporean companies intending to extend their businesses to mainland China. The survey also revealed enterprise’ concern on 2011 economic outlook. Thanks to the high cost of raw material, industries such as building and construction, textile and clothing might face difficulties in the coming year. In the meanwhile, on the threshold of a new Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government will implement a new stimulus package, subsequently lead to a shift of the preferential policies among different industries, making the investment landscape in China a different story. The 12th Five-Year Plan will be implemented in 2011. More than 4 trillion Yuan will be spent in the coming five-year period to provide financial support, including tax cuts and exemptions, to nine key industries - new energy, new materials, information technology, biology and new medicine, energy conservation and environmental protection, aerospace, marine, advanced manufacturing, and hi-tech services industries. The government aims to shift China from “the global factory” to “the global market”. Therefore, the new plan accents on creativity and advanced technology, to help Chinese companies depend less on foreign technology. Companies with a focus on advanced technology rather than the traditional outsourcing manufacturing model will enjoy more benefits from the new Five-Year Plan.

According to a recent joint KPMG and Oracle survey of executives from financial institutions across the region, the recently proposed reforms Basel III are likely to have a significant impact on banks in Asia-Pacific. About three in four, or 76 percent of respondents said regulatory reforms would have an impact on their business. More than half said these regulatory reforms would likely mean changes to their banks' business models. Almost half or 48 percent expect their banks would need to raise additional capital.

Companies must not lose emails from their customers, suppliers and partners.

Fundtech Ltd., a market leader in global banking solutions, announced the results of a survey on mobile corporate banking.

Seow-Chien Chew is recognized for her contribution in helping solve the talent management challenges facing many non-profit organizations across Southeast Asia and Singapore.

Schroders and Legal & General Investment Management are actively involved with a number of brokers in developing a local confirmation-affirmation allocation capability over SWIFT

Name your best banking and finance institutions in The Asian Banking and Finance Retail Banking Awards 2011.

What a year 2010 has been, and for very different reasons for different parts of the global landscape.

The Year of the Rabbit will be a year with quite a lot of attention on accounting standards, particularly financial instruments accounting.

UOB is planning to hire some 2,000 staff in Singapore and the region this year.

IT has suffered from an image problem across much of the financial services world.

HSBC said it has launched renminbi deposit accounts for its customers in Singapore, making it one of the banks offering such services in Singapore.