Asia Financial Services

After a short-lived slowdown related to political uncertainty, economic weakness and the ending of a first-time car-buyer scheme, the insurance sector in Thailand is beginning to grow again at a healthy pace. Given the relatively low penetration rate, the increasing incomes in the country and the ageing population, it is expected that the sector will soon expand again at or near its...

The Thai market consistently outperforms many of its neighbours in terms of trading volumes. In January 2016 over $23bn of shares changed hands on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, compared to some $9bn on Bursa Malaysia, over $4bn on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and $16bn on the Singapore Exchange. Thailand is transforming from a large but secondary player in the region to a market of focus....

Thailand’s banking sector remained resilient in 2015 despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, including slowing demand in China and high levels of consumer debt. Loan growth continued, despite moderating from the double-digit highs of previous years, and loan capital improved even as the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio rose. Operating profits of banks simultaneously grew, although net...

With development dating back nearly 200 years, the Philippine insurance sector is among the region’s most mature and competitive, expanding steadily in recent years despite serious challenges in 2014. The nation remains prone to natural disasters, as evidenced by Typhoon Haiyan, a category-five storm that caused billions in damage when it struck in November 2013. It cost the sector millions...

As domestic liquidity surged and foreign investors gradually returned after a general flight from emerging markets in 2013, Philippine capital markets were riding a wave of optimism in 2014 and early 2015. The Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) blue-chip index, the PSEI, hit a fresh all-time high in January 2015 and was continuing to rise in February, finally working past the “taper tantrum”...