Cash management: Challenges remain in emerging market liquidity management

Cash management poll 2008: ResultsCash management: Cash captains see their ship come inCiti: the $6.5 billion start-upThird-party provision finally takes offFinancial institutions: uncertainty breeds competition“The mood of Asia, Africa and the Middle East to that of Europe and the US is night and day,” says Karen Fawcett, group head, transaction banking, at Standard Chartered in Singapore. “Activity will inevitably be focused towards developing markets because the economies are more healthy.” As economic activity is refocused, the demand for improved liquidity management in emerging markets can only grow stronger.Emerging markets exhibit many of the characteristics, requirements and challenges that applied in western Europe and other developed markets in previous years. Of course, the potential technology now available to a treasurer in Asia is vastly superior to that on offer to his counterpart in southern Europe in the 1980s. But how helpful is technology in heavily regulated markets with currency controls, for...