In 2025, CFOs and treasurers faced intense market volatility caused by geopolitical risks, economic uncertainty and rapid technological change. Finance leaders moved beyond traditional compliance roles to become strategic architects of enterprise value, resilience and sustainable growth. They transformed finance functions from back-office support units into real-time command centres for decision-making, shifting from historical reporting to predictive analytics and forward-looking strategies.

Treasury teams navigated multiple challenges, including supply-chain disruptions, evolving regulatory requirements across jurisdictions, and the need for quick, strategic pivots. The fast adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital payments delivered greater operational efficiency, better risk mitigation and improved liquidity management, yet it also created new regulatory complexities.

South Asia development moves forward

Indian corporates actively sought treasury solutions focused on centralization automation and efficient cross-border payments while embracing sustainability initiatives. A notable example was Standard Chartered’s structuring and syndication of a three-year bond and guarantee facility for Envision Energy India to finance its expanding wind turbine sales. This deal marked the world’s first sustainable trade finance mandate aligned with the International Chamber of Commerce Principles for Sustainable Trade and Trade Finance.

GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) remained a priority for service providers as activity in cash trade and securities services grew. As a flagship government project, GIFT City developed into a competitive international financial services hub in 2025. Supported by policy reforms, it extended tax incentives and regulatory improvements. With banking assets exceeding US$100 billion and a fast-growing fund management ecosystem, it allowed corporates to manage foreign-currency accounts and cash pools across global subsidiaries, access offshore capital markets and enjoy a competitive tax regime, including a 10-year income tax holiday.

Deutsche Bank provided a structured GIFT City loan to Tata Electronics to fund brownfield expansion of its enclosure facilities. Tata is the only Indian vendor, and one of just three or four globally, that supplies iPhone enclosures to Apple. The hub also supported centralized treasury functions, group transaction netting and stronger liquidity management.

Supply-chain finance played a major role in working capital for Indian corporates. Banks offered cross-border programmes for offshore suppliers while also helping advance ESG goals. HSBC rolled out India’s first sustainable supply chain finance solution for Hindustan Unilever, offering early payments to suppliers at rates linked to sustainability KPIs. This encouraged suppliers to reduce their carbon footprints through long-term sustainable practices.

Innovative solutions appeared across other South Asian markets. Standard Chartered established Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ first-ever regional treasury centre (RTC), delivering near real-time visibility of global cash positions, automated payments and improved controls. For BRAC, Standard Chartered implemented a large-scale digital loan collection and payment solution across 2,800 branches, removing reliance on physical cash and cheques to streamline operations.

In Sri Lanka, the IATA BSP introduced an innovative cash-management solution that enabled immediate identification of fund remitters and automated reconciliation via secure host-to-host connectivity, aiding treasury operations during gradual economic recovery supported by tourism and remittances.

MENA records resilient growth

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the region’s strong growth drove rapid changes in corporate treasury operations. The United Arab Emirates stood out with new tools such as a virtual account statement API and a seven-day domestic cash concentration solution allowing round-the-clock automation of in-country liquidity management. Cross-currency cash concentration solutions were also launched to automate fund sweeps between accounts in different currencies.

National visions like Saudi Vision 2030 and the UAE’s long-term economic strategies reinforced MENA’s role as a dynamic financial powerhouse. Multinationals expanded regional treasury centres in hubs such as the Dubai International Financial Centre and Abu Dhabi Global Market. These centres provided centralized liquidity management, efficient cash pooling, and optimized operations across Europe, Asia and Africa.

Finance leaders used these hubs to implement advanced risk tools, including dynamic hedging, real-time visibility platforms and predictive analytics while managing interest-rate shifts and geopolitical developments. ESG considerations became mainstream with ESG-linked financing now standard in procurement, infrastructure projects and capital planning. Interest in stablecoins and fintech solutions further boosted treasury efficiency and resilience.

While the ongoing conflict involving Iran has clearly disrupted regional momentum in the short term, many stakeholders and finance leaders continue to hold confidence that the inherent resilience of the MENA region will prevail, enabling economies there to emerge stronger in the long term.

Across both regions, 2025 changed how CFOs and treasurers selected banks, fintech firms and technology vendors. Relationships evolved from transactional deals into deep strategic partnerships. Leading providers combined strong regional expertise and global networks with unified digital platforms, integrating cash management, trade finance, risk oversight, and AI-powered analytics.

These were some of the interesting trends and solutions presented to the board of editors at The Asset as part of the Triple A Treasurise Awards 2026.

For the complete list of winners of Best service providers in MENA, please go here. To see list of winners in South Asia, 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 15, 2026, please contact us at celebrate@theasset.com.

Stay tuned in the coming days as we announce more winners of The Asset Triple A Treasurise Awards 2026.