A report published this week by The Asset Benchmark Research on 1,002 corporates and their treasury in Asia-Pacific showed that corporate treasury departments intend to become either a business enabler or a value-adding partner to the business, although some departments will focus on becoming a profit centre:

Source & Copyright©2016 - The Asset

Location for treasury centralization

In the dynamic Asia-Pacific market the location for treasury centralisation is a vital decision. The survey looked at the most important factors in choosing a location with proximity to the regional HQ being the most popular. The researchers also asked the 1,002 respondent about the key factors in choosing between Hong Kong and Singapore:

Source & Copyright©2016 - The Asset

A regional treasurer for a industrials MNC based in Hong Kong commented, “There are good reasons to choose Hong Kong. First of all, you get the talent and human capital. Second, it’s a strong financial hub in Asia. Third, Hong Kong is probably key because China remains the world’s second largest economy. You have to be close to China.” In contrast, a regional corporate treasurer of a materials based large local corporate based in Singapore commented, “We prefer Singapor because of the tax. Free trade agreements are also one of the reasons. Singapore’s funding costs are relatively low compared to Hong Kong’s.”

Corporate treasury pain points

The research showed that corporate treasury departments in Asia-Pacific have the same ‘pain-points’ as many others world-wide and have similar technology automation plans:

Source & Copyright©2016 - The Asset