Vietnam’s central bank will simplify 11 administrative procedures covering foreign exchange management from July 25, 2026, under a new circular aimed at improving efficiency and decentralising approvals. The Vietnam foreign exchange procedures reforms cover foreign borrowing, overseas lending, international bond issuance, indirect investment and foreign currency accounts held abroad. Circular No. 17/2026/TT-NHNN amends and supplements five legal documents and requires the Sta

HSBC Private Bank has appointed Edward Chiu as Onshore Taiwan Market Head effective June 1, 2026, as the bank strengthens its onshore wealth management operations in Taiwan. The HSBC Taiwan private banking appointment comes as competition intensifies for affluent and ultra-high-net-worth clients across North Asia. Chiu has more than 20 years of experience in wealth management and affluent banking in Taiwan and has served as Head of Premier Elite at HSBC Taiwan since 2024. He

Companies across Southeast Asia plan to allocate 81% of capital expenditure within Asia over the next three years, led primarily by ASEAN markets, according to The Business Times Insights: ASEAN Intelligence 2026 survey. The ASEAN intra-Asia investment findings were based on responses from more than 500 business leaders across the ASEAN-6 economies. All respondents said they planned additional capital deployment within Asia, with 90% focused on ASEAN markets, 77% targeting do

Taiwan’s business sentiment improved across manufacturing, services and construction last month as resilient artificial intelligence demand helped offset geopolitical uncertainty linked to the Middle East, according to the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. The Taiwan business sentiment indicators showed broad-based improvement across key sectors. TIER’s manufacturing climate gauge rose 0.93 points to 97.14, while the services index increased 0.54 points to 96.73. The con

Singapore’s economy grew 6% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, beating an earlier official estimate of 4.6%, supported by wholesale trade, manufacturing and finance as artificial intelligence-related demand boosted exports. The Singapore Q1 GDP figures also showed the economy expanded 1% quarter on quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, reversing an advance estimate of a 0.3% contraction. The Ministry of Trade and Industry maintained its 2026 growth forecast at betwe

Hong Kong has approved 36 company re-domiciliation applications since launching the regime nearly a year ago, according to the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau. The Hong Kong re-domiciliation regime was introduced to attract overseas-incorporated companies seeking to relocate their legal domicile to the city while maintaining operational continuity. Authorities said another 21 applications are currently being processed by the Companies Registry. The approved compani

Asian family offices explored investment opportunities in Britain during the recent Coutts Family Office Forum in Singapore as the UK intensified efforts to attract capital from wealthy investors across Asia-Pacific. The Asian family offices UK discussions focused on cross-border investment opportunities, wealth management expertise and partnerships between Britain and Asia’s expanding private wealth sector. Martin Kent, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, said

HSBC is targeting growth in its Hong Kong customer base to 7.5 million, roughly matching the city’s population, as the bank accelerates expansion of its wealth management operations and seeks to attract more international investors. The HSBC Hong Kong wealth strategy follows the addition of nearly two million customers during the past two years, bringing total customers to seven million at the end of 2025. Hong Kong chief executive Maggie Ng said the city’s role as a wealth m

Hong Kong banks are opening more luxury wealth centres in premium commercial locations as competition intensifies for high-net-worth and family office clients amid lower interest rates and rising demand for fee-based advisory income. The Hong Kong luxury wealth centres expansion reflects a wider shift away from traditional branch banking towards exclusive advisory venues tailored for affluent customers. HSBC recently opened its fifth Hong Kong luxury wealth centres location a

Singapore-based financial advisory firm PFPFA has opened a new Singapore wealth advisory centre at Ngee Ann City as it expands services focused on wealth preservation, succession planning and legacy advisory for affluent families and high-net-worth individuals. The Singapore wealth advisory centre, branded as the PFP Signature Centre, is located in Orchard Road and will provide private consultations covering investment advisory, estate planning, insurance structuring and inte

Financial institutions across Asia Pacific accounted for 52% of global Layer 7 DDoS incidents targeting financial services in 2025, making the region the leading target for application-layer attacks for a fourth consecutive year, according to Akamai Technologies. The APAC cyber attacks finance report highlighted growing vulnerabilities as banks, fintech companies and payment providers expand digital banking and API-driven services. Within Asia Pacific, banks represented 44% o

Family-owned businesses frequently underperform for years after leadership changes, according to new McKinsey research covering more than 200 companies across 50 countries. The family business succession study found average shareholder returns fell by 5.7 percentage points during the five years following a CEO transition. McKinsey said the decline occurred regardless of whether the successor was a family member or an external executive, suggesting that family business success

Hong Kong’s role as an international financial and regional business hub will continue strengthening despite geopolitical tensions, according to Hong Kong Trade Development Council chairman Frederick Ma. The Hong Kong financial hub outlook remains supported by the city’s free flow of information and its mature banking, capital markets, accounting and legal ecosystem, Ma said during a public event. He added that foreign companies still largely prefer Hong Kong as a location fo

China private equity activity is recovering, although investors remain increasingly selective and focused on exit opportunities, industry executives said during DealStreetAsia’s Asia Private Equity Leadership Summit in Hong Kong. The China private equity recovery follows a prolonged market reset triggered by the US-China trade war, the pandemic and domestic policy changes. Gary Chan of Sun Hung Kai & Co said fundraising activity had improved during the past 12 to 18 months, a

Morgan Stanley has instructed its Hong Kong-based bankers to carry separate iPhones and iPads for business trips to mainland China as global financial institutions strengthen controls over cross-border data security. The Morgan Stanley China travel policy was introduced in recent months and applies specifically to travel involving mainland China, according to reports citing a source familiar with the matter. The Wall Street bank declined to comment publicly on the policy. The

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has proposed updated regulations for electronic stock market transactions as authorities seek to modernise the framework governing online securities trading. The Vietnam online securities trading reforms would replace rules introduced in 2017 and later amended in 2020. The draft circular introduces provisions covering electronic know-your-customer verification, electronic contracts, transaction authentication and API-based connectivity between se

DBS Group Research said global financial centres in the artificial intelligence era will increasingly be judged by whether AI-driven financial decisions can be trusted across borders rather than simply by technology capability or capital-market size. The Singapore AI finance hub assessment came in a DBS report titled The Trusted AI Financial Hub, which introduced a Global AI Financial Hub Index covering 15 financial centres across AI integration, governance, digital infrastru

Standard Chartered has raised its 2026 growth forecast for Taiwan to 9.5% from 7.6%, citing stronger-than-expected first-quarter expansion and surging artificial intelligence demand that is boosting exports, semiconductor production and investment. The Taiwan AI economy outlook follows first-quarter GDP growth of 13.7% year on year, marking the fastest quarterly expansion in nearly four decades. The bank said exports surged 35.3% during the quarter as global demand for AI-rel

Malaysia’s Securities Commission has tightened rules for digital asset exchanges as regulators seek to speed up product approvals while strengthening investor protection, governance and operational resilience standards. The Malaysia digital asset exchanges reforms took effect on May 20 under revised Guidelines on Recognized Markets. The updated framework introduces stronger safeguards for client assets together with higher standards covering financial stability, ownership str

Hong Kong plans to launch a government-owned gold-clearing system by July as the city seeks to strengthen its role as a global bullion trading hub and diversify financial market infrastructure. The Hong Kong gold clearing system will reportedly mirror London’s bullion-market model by allowing settlement through unallocated accounts, enabling faster and more scalable trading without assigning specific numbered bars. People familiar with the matter said trial operations are exp