Asia
Rise of renminbi prompts central banks to open Asian offices
A total of nine central banks now have offices in Asia, but New York remains city of choice
Islamic finance is for everyone, Malaysia’s Zahid says
Bank Negara Malaysia assistant governor stresses inclusiveness of Islamic finance but says SMEs are still not taking advantage
Vietnam continues with payment card upgrades
Banks must phase out magnetic strip cards by 2021
Hong Kong’s new banknotes get design facelift
For the first time, the design of the notes will share a unified theme; the notes will not be printed on polymer due to security feature integration
EME central banks can counter the next downturn
Philip Turner urges central banks to consider a broad range of actions to tackle volatility stemming from currency mismatches
Mobile phones boost financial inclusivity in Cambodia – paper
Phone users more likely to open financial accounts and invest using microcredit
Book notes: The bank that lived a little, by Philip Augar
History of British commercial bank Barclays fails to address key questions, writes Michael Taylor
BoJ governor offers advice on domestic resilience to external shocks
Central bank co-operation and communication are crucial for domestic resilience, Kuroda explains
Regional financing bodies agree to deepen co-operation
All three major regional financing funds now linked by MoUs
Emerging market governors back targeted capital controls
Governors says capital flow measures can be important tools in some circumstances
Asia outlook positive despite growing risks, IMF reports
Sound policymaking should protect Asia’s prospects for staying at the forefront of global growth, IMF says
HKMA launches new faster payments system
New system will reduce transaction time and scrap interbank fees
PBoC launches first phase of blockchain trade financing platform
Platform could help increase access to finance for SMEs while improving trade networks between Macao and Hong Kong
Focus shifts to plumbing as crypto markets mature
Panellists at the 14th annual FX Week Asia conference say the institutionalisation of crypto markets is gaining momentum
Bank Indonesia steps in to stem rupiah fall
Rupiah falls to lows not seen since the Asian financial crisis, as Indonesia becomes the latest victim of the strong dollar
Thailand’s macroeconomic policy at a ‘turning point’ – Santiprabhob
Policy will have to evolve to support the economy rather than stimulate it, governor says
Singapore aims to become e-FX hub for Asia, says MAS’s Loh
Jacqueline Loh says Singapore wants more price discovery to take place in the country
Central Bank of the Philippines gets mandate to regulate payment systems
Payment systems could be placed on blacklist if they pose a risk to the financial system
Philippines central bank makes biggest hike of 2018
Central bank raises interest rates by 50bp on the back of mounting inflation pressures
A real-time payments revolution in Asia
Asian central banks have encouraged the development of instant payment systems to defend monetary policy transmission and counter cryptocurrency usage
BIS paper compares current Asian vulnerabilities with 1997 crisis
Global banking statistics could have given warning signals ahead of Asian crisis, authors say
Book notes: China’s Great Wall of Debt, by Dinny McMahon
McMahon is too pessimistic about the chances of China managing to get its great wall of debt under control, writes Michael Taylor, but he is undoubtedly right about the scale of the challenge
Hong Kong mandates use of legal entity identifiers for OTC derivatives
LEIs will be mandatory for some firms from April 1, 2019
Bank of Thailand to test use of digital currency for interbank settlement
Governor says bank is close to finishing proof-of-concept for digital bond issues