Despite heightening geopolitical risks, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( Asean ) region continues to explore new opportunities in an evolving financial landscape. The China+1 strategy remains a key driver of economic activity, benefiting Asean as it consolidates its position as China’s largest trade partner. In response to aggressive and uncertain US trade policies, large Chinese companies are diversifying their manufacturing and supply chain operations across the region.

Chinese companies and multinational corporations ( MNCs ) are increasingly choosing Singapore as their regional treasury centre ( RTC ), owing to its  stable regulatory framework and robust foreign exchange infrastructure. This enables firms to set up multi-currency accounts ( US dollar, euro, Singapore dollar, renminbi, etc. ), facilitating seamless access to international markets and liquidity. A key treasury practice among these companies is cash pooling, where funds from different country accounts are consolidated into a head account in Singapore at cut-off time. This cash pooling mechanism enhances liquidity visibility and management while generating higher returns.

In Malaysia, digital payments, particularly QR code transactions, continue to gain momentum. Companies are leveraging API-driven solutions to handle high-volume payment demands efficiently. Meanwhile, data centres are mushrooming in Johor, driving demand for green energy financing. Given these facilities’ substantial electricity consumption, green working capital finance is emerging as a pivotal solution to support sustainability initiatives in the region.

RMB financing

In Thailand, Chinese contractors undertaking infrastructure projects are bolstering demand for trade finance solutions, including working capital financing, bank guarantees, and letters of credit. Given that many suppliers originate from China, local financing in Thai baht is often costly, and foreign exchange ( FX ) volatility remains a key concern for treasurers. As a result, RMB financing is increasingly being considered a more viable and cost-effective option for CFOs and corporate treasurers.

Vietnam’s economy demonstrated strong resilience in 2024, achieving a GDP growth of 7.09%. Foreign direct investment slipped 3% to over US$38.2 billion, but it remained a substantial amount that reinforces the country’s position as a key manufacturing hub. With more foreign companies establishing supply chains in Vietnam, supply chain finance and sustainable trade facilities are becoming increasingly popular financial solutions to support long-term growth. Also, sustainable accounts have been introduced in the market, helping companies align their cash management practices with sustainability goals by ensuring funds are directed towards environmental, social and governance ( ESG ) initiatives.

In Indonesia, virtual accounts are gaining traction among both local corporations and MNCs with operations in the country. By enabling automated reconciliation of collections and payments, digitalization is freeing up employees to focus on strategic and high-value tasks, thereby enhancing overall efficiency and customer experience.

Indonesia’s automotive industry is also experiencing rapid growth, supported by Japanese and international banks in collaboration with local financial institutions. These banks have introduced innovative distributor finance solutions, including flexible overdrafts for dealers, where debt can be repaid partially on a day-to-day basis. This structure helps dealers reduce borrowing costs and optimize their working capital cycle.

Additionally, with electric vehicle ( EV ) imports from China on the rise, banks are increasingly offering RMB-denominated letters of credit to meet client demand for cross-border transactions.

Supporting business growth

As part of their Asean treasury strategy, MNCs in the Philippines are opening accounts with international banks and exploring FX workflow solutions to optimize currency exchange processes. For local businesses, supplier finance is gaining popularity as a means to strengthen working capital management and enhance supply chain resilience.

In Australia, corporate treasurers are prioritizing higher efficiency by implementing fully automated payment processing workflows. International banks are supporting large corporations in account consolidation and centralizing account operations, ensuring greater visibility and control over liquidity.

Amid these evolving financial landscapes, banks across Asean and Australia continue to innovate and implement best-in-class treasury solutions to support businesses in their treasury transformation journey.

Impactful treasury solutions

Over the course of the review period the board of editors was presented a number of game changing solutions that greatly impacted the operations of several organisations whether it be in Southeast Asia or Australia. For example, in Indonesia Lion Air integrated connectivity with reliable payment processing helping the airline company handle a large volume of international transactions with streamlined bulk payment to suppliers and vendors across borders.

In neighbouring Singapore, the team saw the likes of China Communications Construction Company Limited ( CCCC ) and other Chinese state-owned enterprises establish offshore treasury hubs in the city state with CCCC being able to formalize a virtual account payment and collection solution the enables the company to manage all their projects via one single physical account giving CCCC improved efficiency and bolstered financial control.

The growth market of Vietnam was the the location for several exciting treasury solutions with companies looking to improve their working capital and improve their visibility and control. For instance, Samsung worked with its service provider to create a distributor financing solution leveraging on a partner bank to have working capital loans drawn against invoices uploaded by Samsung offering competitive pricing to distributors versus their own financing arrangements.

In Australia, we saw corporates and financial institutions being serviced for their transactional needs with real-time operational efficiency being key. Commonwealth Bank of Australia did a cross-border payments collaboration where commercial payments from overseas business and individuals in Australian bank accounts will now be available to the final beneficiary in under a minute 24/7.

For the complete list of house winners across Asean and Australia, click here.

For the complete list of winning treasury solutions, please click here.

To learn more about these awards, please click here.

To join the in-person annual celebratory dinner in Hong Kong on May 21, 2025 please contact us at celebrate@theasset.com.

Stay tuned in the coming days as we announce the winners of The Asset Triple A Treasurise Awards 2025.