China's GDP grew 6% in Q4
China’s GDP expanded 6%in Q4 2019, according to the country’s official numbers. In the entire year of 2019, the country’s...
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Global M&A demonstrated surprising resilience in 2019
M&A activity was surprisingly resilient in 2019 though volatile economic activity led many executives to adopt recession footing, said Bain...
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Work stress costs Hong Kong US$1.9 billion a year
Hong Kong employees are absent from work for an average of 8.3 days a year, incurring annual economic losses of...
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Report: Hong Kong-listed jewellery group to close 15 shops
There’s the further sign of a retail collapse in Hong Kong as Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd. is quoted...
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Moody’s: Asian Liquidity Stress Indicator weakens further in December
Moody's Investors Service said recently that its Asian Liquidity Stress Indicator (ALSI) slightly weakened in December 2019 to 31.8% from...
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PwC: 2020 will be a year of ‘slowbalisation’
PwC predicts that 2020 will be a year of ‘slowbalisation’ in the global economy, where trade tensions continue to create...
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Will there be a fresh global debt crisis?
The World Bank warned of the risk of a global debt crisis in its biannual Global Economic Prospects report published...
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India’s GDP growth to hit its lowest since 2013
India’s GDP will grow 5% in the year through March 2020, the lowest since 2013, according to government numbers. Weighed...
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Shadow banking shows signs of a comeback in China
While China has attempted to crack down on shadow banking activities, unregulated lending is in fact growing, said China Beige...
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SDGs: Companies still have a long way to go
With only ten years to deliver the sustainable development goals (SDGs), there’s a great deal of work to be done...
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High indebtedness, low growth shape 2020 global credit outlook
A combination of slowing economic growth, sustained low interest rates and unprecedented levels of indebtedness will broadly influence the global...
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Hong Kong: The third most expensive location in Asia for expats
Hong Kong is now the third most expensive location in Asia for expatriate workers to live, and sixth most expensive...
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HKICPA launches new qualification programme
The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) said recently that it has scheduled to launch the new qualification...
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Asian business confidence rebounds but caution abounds
Asian business confidence rebounded in Q4 2019 to hit an 18-month high with firms reporting a pickup in sales, though...
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IMF: India need to reduce public debt
India should cut public debt instead of boosting the economy with fiscal stimulus, said IMF recently. The IMF estimated that...
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How firms stay competitive in Singapore’s current talent market
Employers in Singapore are grappling with the rising cost of staff health benefits while at the same time modifying their...
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CFOs: Are these your top priorities?
Security, analytics and customer service tare op CFO concerns as leaders focus as much on strategy as operations, said Protiviti...
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Will China’s GDP growth still hit 6%?
China’s GDP growth won’t drop below 6% in 2020 and will hit 6.1% this year, wrote Sheng Songcheng, a former...
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Negative outlook for APAC non-bank financial institutions
Moody’s Investors Service said recently that its outlook for APAC non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs),which highlights the key credit trends shaping...
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2020: Singapore’s business confidence translates into positive hiring intentions
More than half (55%) of the 228 Singaporean executives surveyed cite high levels of business confidence, on par with the...
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CFOs: What will shape future corporate reporting?
Although the majority of finance leaders (79%) say they have the data volumes today to give stakeholders the insight they...
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Moody's: Negative 2020 outlook for China’s financial institutions
Moody’s Investors Services said today its outlook for China's financial institutions over the next 12 months is negative because slowing...
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Hong Kong dollar strengthens to past 7.8 level
Hong Kong dollar jumped as much as 0.13% to 7.7982 per US dollar on Thursday, crossing the 7.8 threshold. The...
Read moreCFOs: Here are the top five business risks in 2020
Fractious geopolitics in a US election year, a rising tide of global activism and a new level of cyber warfare...
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This is how Hong Kong’s retail catastrophe might look like
While government numbers indicated that Hong Kong’s retail sales by value shrank by 24.3% year-on-year in October, this might not...
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CFOs: Are you personally effective?
Are you one of the personally effective CFOs? According to Gartner, only 22% of CFOs achieve a high degree of...
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Salary increases in 2020: Asian nations dominate the top 20 once again
Asian nations lead the way again for real salary increases, with 13 out of the top 20 increases being seen...
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More than two-thirds of firms have suffered a political risk loss
A survey of 41 major corporations by Willis Towers Watson found that 61% believe political risk levels increased in 2019....
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A new way to measure long-term firm performance and shareholder value
Business leaders and investors are increasingly rating companies on their ability to create long-term shareholder value instead of solely focusing...
Read moreReport: China’s bond default hits US$17 billion
China’s bond default is about to break its 2018 record, according to a Bloomberg report.Data compiled by Bloomberg indicates that...
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Hong Kong's retail sector continues its slump
Hong Kong’s retail sector continues its slump, with sales by value shrinking by 24.3% year-on-year in October, a record drop...
Read moreChallenges ahead for most Indian non-financial firms in 2020
Credit conditions will weaken for most Indian non-financial companies in 2020, driven by sluggish economic growth and slowing earnings, but...
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CFO opportunities: Take a look at these six disruptive trends
While disruptive changes take place at an unprecedented rate, disruptive trends, when viewed positively, can bring about CFO opportunities. These...
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Uncertainty reigns across international tax landscape
Accelerated upheaval across the international tax landscape spurred by tax reforms across the world as well as initiatives such as...
Read moreThe issues that keep Singaporean C-level execs awake at night
There are four challenges that Singaporean C-level executives will continue to combat next year, said Robert Half recently when releasing...
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Do you find technology makes paying taxes easier?
CFOs: Do you find technology makes paying tax easier? PwC said it does according to its survey findings. The survey,...
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Indonesia cuts reserve requirement, holds key rate steady
Indonesia’s central bank cut reserve requirement on Thursday but kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5%. The unchanged rate...
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Consumer is the lone pillar supporting economic growth
Atradius forecasts a 0.6% contraction in global trade growth this year with only a modest recovery to 1.5% growth in...
Read moreChina lowers new benchmark lending rate to boost economy
China lowered its new benchmark lending rate on Wednesday, in an attempt to give a boost to the slowing economy...
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Higher real salary increase for Hong Kong workers in 2020
Despite the current economic slowdown and social unrest, ECA International said Hong Kong workers can expect an average real salary...
Read moreGlobal economic recovery will come later and slower than expected
A global economic recovery will come much later than expected and at a much slower pace, UBS was quoted as...
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Malaysia's economic growth in Q3 weakens but outlook positive
Malaysia’s economic growth in Q3 weakened to 4.4% from Q2’s 4.9%, the slowest in a year. While Bank Negara Malaysia—the...
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Employee benefit programs: Singapore firms face these challenges
Employers in Asia Pacific, including Singapore, are working towards transforming their employee benefit strategy to meet changing needs, said Willis...
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How to improve productivity without stressing employees
While organizations are eager to improve productivity, they start to question their current ways of measuring it, said Hays recently....
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Thailand’s interest rate at record low
The Bank of Thailand has recently cut its benchmark interest rate again. Down by a quarter-percentage point, the key rate...
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Philippine’s fast growing economy might not be sustainable
The Philippine’s Q3 GDP grew 6.2% year-on-year, remaining one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. The growth was fueled...
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Will Asia Pacific countries still sign a trade pact without India in Feb 2020?
Will the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact still come through in February next year after India’s decision to...
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Is the greenback going to weaken?
The US dollar index could fall to as low as 85 as the Fed expands its balance sheet by buying...
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How CFOs can prevent employee burnout
If an issue can be prevented, don’t wait till you have to fix it. The World Health Organisation re-labelled burnout...
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US firms to speed up cash accumulation in Q4
US businesses are expected to speed up its cash accumulation in Q4, said the Association of Financial Professionals that recently...
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Morningstar: China’s Q3 GDP only grew 3% instead of 6%
While there’s skeptism toward China’s reported economic growth numbers, Morningstar said in a recent report that the country’s Q3 GDP...
Read moreHSBC CFO: Bank to restructure after Q3 profit drop
HSBC’s CFO Ewen Stevenson said the bank plans to restructure its loss-making businesses after announcing an 18% year-on-year drop in...
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Singapore’s MAS expects economic recovery soon
While the export-reliant Singapore economy has seen a more serious decline in the second half of 2019, the country believes...
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These Asian economies are among the top 25 that make doing business easier
Economies in the East Asia and Pacific region carried out 33 business-climate-enhancing reforms during the past year, said World Bank...
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Nearly two-third of banks might struggle to survive the next downturn
Nearly 60% of the banks in the world might struggle to survive an economic downturn, said McKinsey & Company in...
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Study: Female CFOs roll in more money
This is good news to female finance executives who aspire to become CFOs and female CFOs who might want to...
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China announces slower Q3 growth and plan to expedite bond issuance
China reports a year-on-year GDP growth rate of 6% for Q3 2019, the slowest since Q1 of 1992, The country’s...
Read moreIMF: Synchronized global slowdown, growth weakest since 2008
IMF has downgraded global growth once again. Global growth is forecast at 3% for 2019, its lowest level since 2008–09...
Read moreSingapore expects growth to pick up modestly next year despite current slowdown
Singapore's exports in September dropped for the seventh straight month as electronics shipments continued to slide, official data showed on...
Read moreSalary hike: What to expect next year in Asia Pacific
Companies in most Asia Pacific markets are conservative in setting their salary increase budgets for 2020, said advisory firm Willis...
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CFOs in Hong Kong: Do you have this issue with your staff?
The vast majority (90%) of Hong Kong businesses surveyed by Robert Half anticipate challenges in upskilling staff to adapt to...
Read moreMoody’s: Asian Liquidity Stress Indicator strengthens in September
Moody's Investors Service said itsAsian Liquidity Stress Indicator (ALSI) strengthened to 31.1% in September from 31.8% in August. Still, the...
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Downturns are a better time for M&A: Here’s why and how to win
Acquirers generally see higher returns from deals made in a weak economy, said the Boston Consulting Group that recently released...
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Global confidence at record low since 2011
Global confidence in Q3 fell to its lowest level since 201, according to a worldwide survey of more than 1,000...
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How Asia Pacific employers can develop digital capabilities
Despite the surge in workplace automation, relatively few Asia Pacific employers, including those in Singapore, have developed an integrated digital...
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CFOs: How firms can make better pricing decisions
Are you one of these companies that leave money on the table because you don't charge the right price or...
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IPO backlog grows as global IPO market slows further in Q3
The backlog of high-quality IPOs continues to grow as issuers await more favorable market conditions, pushing IPO activity down across...
Read moreGlobal GDP Growth to hit eight-year low in 2020
Fitch Ratings said that global growth next year will hit its lowest since 2012 when the Eurozone crisis was at...
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This firm says RPA can save finance functions 25,000 hours of work annually
Finance departments can save their teams from 25,000 hours of avoidable rework caused by human errors by deploying RPA in...
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CFOs in Singapore: Do you have this problem with employees?
Does this resonate with you? Singapore business leaders are devoting 13.8% of their time to coaching and/or supervising poorly performing...
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Asian firms plan job cuts
More than two-third of Asian firms surveyed by INSEAD recently plan to cut jobs out of recession fear though their...
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Is Singapore closer to a technical recession?
Singapore’s factory output tumbled again in August—after a hopeful July, drawing the island state closer to a technical recession. August’s...
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This country in Asia needs more digitization in accounting and tax
Singapore need to further digitize when it comes to accounting and tax, according to the TMF Group. While the island...
Read moreEmployers in Asia: Medical benefit costs to go up
Medical costs in Asia Pacific are forecasted to increase from 8.6% in 2019 to 8.7% in 2020, said Aon recently....
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Insurers call for further delay of IFRS 17 deadline
The CFO Forum and Insurance Europe—representing 23 of the continent’s largest insurers and 95% of premium income—call for a delay...
Read moreWhat are China’s next generation of corporate global giants like?
While there are frequent reports of China’s slowing economy, ACCA said many Chinese companies will become global over the next...
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Hong Kong lowers base rate after Fed cut
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority—the city’s de facto central bank—has lowered its benchmark rate to 2.25% from 2.5% after the US...
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CFOs: Why reverse mentoring works
Have you ever considered reverse mentoring in the finance function and/or your company? According to Hays, many innovative employers in...
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What are the top three priorities for corporate treasurers today?
Access to funding, risk management and improving usability are top of mind for treasurers today, according to results of a...
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How to work with HR to prevent unwanted consequences of cost optimization
Gartner says 80% of hr leaders fail to consider how cost optimization efforts contribute to organizations’ overall cost savings
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People Moves: Hexindai, Olive Tree Estate
Nasdaq-listed Chinese consumer lending marketplace Hexindai Inc. announced recently the appointment of Ms. Kerrie Rui Zhang as CFO after the...
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People moves: Vanke Property, Heatec Jietong
Hong Kong-listed Vanke Property (Overseas) Limited has named Yip Hoi Man as the CFO. Yip, aged 36, joined China Vanke...
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SingEx to transform global finance operations with various technologies
SingEx Holdings Pte Ltd (SingEx) will use SAP S/4HANA Cloud to help drive the transformation of its global finance operations...
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CFOs: How you can keep your teams from burning out
Employees in the finance function work long hours and under much pressure, having a high risk of burnout. What is...
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Insolvencies: Trade war biting in different regions
Global insolvencies rising even faster than expected, said credit insurer Atradius recently. The company expects the highest increase of corporate...
Read morePeople moves: S.Culture, Serrano
Hong Kong-listed S.Culture International Holdings Limited recently announced that Lin Zheming has resigned as CFO with effect from Aug 31,...
Read moreG20 international merchandise trade continued its fall in Q2
G20 international merchandise trade, seasonally adjusted and expressed in current US dollars, continued its downward trend in the second quarter of...
Read morePeople moves: Boustead Singapore, Yintech
Singapore-listed Boustead Singapore Limited recently re-designated the title of its director of group finance Chan Shiok Faun to Group CFO....
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Bank: China to use yuan for future retaliation
While the US-China trade war continues to change, a bank said China would use tools other than tariffs for future...
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Libor: This APAC country sets up a steering committee to deal with transition
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has set up a steering committee to oversee an industry-wide interest rate benchmark transition from...
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Firms divesting struggle to add value
Divesting might not be the right strategy to add value.According to Willis Towers Watson’s Divestment Performance Monitor, in partnership with...
Read moreWhich sector in Asia would get hit the most amid China’s slowdown?
Banks in Asia's trade-dependent developed markets would face the most pressure on their credit profiles in the event of a...
Read moreWill the role of CFO still exist in a decade?
More than 60% of respondents in mainland China and Malaysia said the traditional CFO role would not exist within the...
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Chinese yuan hits 11-year low amid trade war escalation
The Chinese yuan hits its 11-year low against the greenback on Monday as the US-China trade war escalated late last...
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Indonesia joins Asia’s current wave of interest rate cuts
Bank Indonesia recently cuts its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 5.5%. This is expected to help the...
Read moreSurvey: Finance execs need mental health support from employers
A total of 65.6% of finance executives in a survey by UK-based job board CV-Library indicate that work is impacting...
Read moreFormer IMF research deputy: Hong Kong's unrest could trigger global recession
Former IMF deputy director of research Carmen Reinhart—now an economist at Harvard University—warns that Hong Kong’s unrest could trigger a...
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Are you worried about the USD-HKD peg? This bank thinks it'll stay
The prolonged protests and the unresponsive government in Hong Kong have made investors and businesses worry about the peg between...
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CFOs: Do you know how long it takes businesses to respond to security breaches?
It takes three to 12 months to respond to security breaches, according to the annual Vendor Risk Management (VRM) Benchmark Study from...
Read moreThis is one of the few APAC countries that show quickened GDP growth in Q2
While other Asia Pacific countries including more advanced economies report economic slowdown in Q2 because of the US-China trade war,...
Read moreRisks growing for this APAC country's three largest banks as economy slows
Singapore's three largest bank by assets face rising asset risk in 2019 amid a weakening macroeconomic environment, despite their record...
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Moody's: Major banks in Hong Kong best in IFRS 9 implementation
While the implementation among Asia Pacific banking systems of the IFRS 9 accounting standard is making good progress, not all...
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How much is the market cap of the world’s 100 largest public companies?
The market capitalization of the world’s 100 largest public companies has increased by US $1,040 billion (5%) in 12 months...
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Singapore revises growth outlook downward
Amid the escalating US-China trade war, Singapore cut its economic growth outlook for this year on Tuesday to 0.0%-1.0% from...
Read moreThis APAC country plans to replace its M0 with cryptocurrency
Amid its currency drop below the “psychological barrier” of 7 and the intensifying trade war with the US, China—with its...
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Chinese yuan fixing below 7: the weakest since 2008
The People’s Bank of China set its daily reference rate at 7.0039 per dollar, the weakest since Apr 21, 2008. ...
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CFOs: The major barriers to successful digital transformation
Skills of the leadership team and the lack of collaboration among the C-suite, the IT team and wider business hold...
Read moreDevaluation spillover in Asia possible despite effort to mitigate CNY drop
China’s central bank—the People’s Bank of China—set the Chinese yuan’s official reference point at a stronger point than the fixing...
Read moreBank: Hong Kong’s full-year GDP growth might reach 1%
Hong Kong’s economic growth remained sluggish in Q2 at 0.6% year-on-year. While consumption expanded by 4% year-on-year, it was slower...
Read moreUS firms continued to amass cash in Q2 despite strong numbers
Despite strong employment numbers and a tight job market, business leaders in the US continued their reluctance to deploy cash...
Read moreCFOs: Many losses you foresee are rarely covered by cyber insurance
CFOs: Cyber insurance may create a false sense of security. Here's why. In a study of more than 105 CFOs...
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The benefits of the hybrid CFO-COO role
CFOs who double up as COOs: Now is your time to brag about the improvements you bring to your organizations...
Read moreThese five APAC economies among the world’ top 20 most innovative
Five Asia Pacific economies—Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, and Japan—have made it to the world’s top 20 most innovative...
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How does Malaysia stack up in APAC when it comes to business complexity?
Malaysia is the ninth simplest place to do business in Asia excluding Australia and Oceania, according to a new report...
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This project might add hope to crypto despite recent backlash
Despite the regulatory backlash against cryptocurrencies after Facebook’s announcement of Libra, there’s one reason to remain hopeful about crypto. The...
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Why you were denied promotion and how to get an opportunity
Ever wonder why you were rejected for a promotion last time? A new research commissioned by Robert Half found that...
Read moreAccountant survey: Economic confidence dips but remains above record low
ACCA’s GECS (global economic confidence survey) indicates that global confidence index in Q2 fell slightly after the bounce in Q1....
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SWIFT launches multi-bank gpi payment initiation
SWIFT announced recently the further enhancement of its gpi service with the full go-live of SWIFT gpi for corporates, a...
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This firm says the majority of execs surveyed have adopted RPA
Are you one of those companies that have deployed RPA? A majority of the 450 executives across multiple regions, industries...
Read moreThe lion’s roar weakens: IMF's lower Singapore growth outlook
While Singapore’s growth will stabilize in the medium term around 2.5%, it will slow to 2% this year as a...
Read moreBitcoin: 11% weekend dive as scrutiny grows
While Facebook’s Libra announcement drove the nine-day Bitcoin rally of 55% after June 18 to hit nearly US$14,000, it also...
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Report: PwC said HSBC target might lead to number massage
PwC warned that HSBC CEO John Flint’s aim of “driving revenue at a faster pace than costs” could give managers...
Read moreING: Don’t expect CNY to rise despite the higher foreign reserves
China’s foreign exchange reserves increased more than expected in June, according to data from the People’s Bank of China on...
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The estimated US$15.7T potential of AI might not realize for this one reason
While AI has an estimated $15.7 trillion economic potential, immature understanding of ethical AI practices might hinder its realization, said...
Read moreSingapore’s June PMI close to three-year low
Singapore’s PMI fell for the second straight month after shrinking 0.3 point to 49.6 in June. This is the lowest since August...
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Former Goldman Sachs banker banned in Hong Kong for 1MDB scandal
After the US and Singapore, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has recently banned Tim Leissner, Goldman Sach’s former...
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Mercer: Cities in this region once again the most pricey for expats
Eight of the world’s top 10 most expensive cities are located in Asia as a result of the region’s high...
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Most high-yield firms in this region can manage USD debt exposure
Moody's Investors Service says in a recently released report that all but five of the 47 rated South and Southeast...
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Self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator: I’m unable to access my US$10B fortune
Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator, said in Florida federal court on Friday that he’s unable to access his US$10...
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APAC businesses delay or cancel investment because of this
Companies operating in Asia Pacific change their strategies as they expect the US-China trade war to deteriorate further. According to...
Read moreThe world saw a sharp drop in wealth growth in 2018
Is it another sign pointing a harder time? Global personal wealth just grew 1.6% in 2018, the weakest in five...
Read moreCFOs: How do you stack up when it comes to return on invested capital?
A study by Gartner now gives CFOs a glimpse into returned on invested capital related performance. The best CFO approaches...
Read moreAsian business confidence has fallen to its lowest
Confidence among Asian companies in the June quarter fell to its lowest since the 2008-09 financial crisis, as the US-China...
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HK-listed firm accused of fraud: Shares fell 24.8% before trading halt
Short seller Bonitas Research accused Hong Kong-listed Bosideng (HKEx: 3998) of public market fraud, which resulted in the firm’s shares...
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Moody’s: IFRS 17 will not change credit view
IFRS 17 will transform insurance accounting but won't change insurers' underlying economic position, said Helena Kingsley-Tomkins, the AVP-Analyst at Moody's...
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Singapore has become more expensive for expats for one major reason
Singapore has experienced a significant rise up ECA’s cost of living rankings, now the 12th most expensive location in the...
Read moreThis region will show the strongest M&A growth over the next two quarters
The Asia Pacific region is expected to show the strongest growth in M&A activity over the next two quarters, said...
Read moreThe numbers are in: Singapore’s hard-hit export sector
This is not good news for the economy of a country that has heavy reliance on export. Singapore’s non-oil domestic...
Read moreExecutives in these sectors bullish about M&A
Confidence in the M&A market is rising, with 58% of technology, media and entertainment, and telecommunications (TMT) executives planning to...
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