Asia Financial Services

The Philippine Stock Exchange had the second-best performance among Asian equity markets in 2013. It hit 38 all-time records during the year, broke 6000 for the first time in January 2013, 6500 in Feruary, and 7000 in April. The challenge is now to build on this strong foundation, further developing the systems, institutions, and regulations that will guarantee the market’s continued success...

The Philippines banking sector has strengthened significantly in recent years, tracking general economic trends and benefitting from prudent measures put into place over time to boost capital and improve supervision, corporate governance and transparency. The local institutions that emerged from the late 1990s are stable and more wary of excessive risk and asset-liability imbalances. The...

For a number of years the Philippines worked hard to lower tariff rates, with the average weighted tariff applied falling from 22.4% in 1989 to a low of 2.6% in 2003. However, rates have begun to creep up again. The Philippines is actively considering a number of liberalisations to better align itself with the more open of its regional peers and to better integrate itself with the global economy...

The 2006 Insurance Order and Insurance Regulations began a process of sector consolidation by implementing new requirements, such as a higher paid-up capital of $6.2m, up from $778,800. The government’s concerted efforts to reduce overall levels of personal debt in the Sultanate are expected to help the insurance sector grow and develop. Fronting business makes up a large part of activity in the...

Islamic services have long been a part of the financial mix within Brunei Darussalam. For the past two decades, Islamic banking, takaful (sharia-compliant insurance) and Islamic capital market products have been taking root and growing. These services now compete strongly against their conventional counterparts and continue to capture market share. With the government promoting sharia-compliant...

The banking sector has performed well historically, with a 70% increase in assets over 12 years. From 2007 to June 2012 total commercial banking assets in the Sultanate grew 30.5% to BN$20.1bn ($15.7bn). The sector is currently facing a period of re-adjustment, absorbing the implications of a more mature regulatory environment and looking at ways to support the government’s development plans. In...