Chris Wright

Opinion

Australian regulator blocks ANZ-Suncorp but pushes alternative

It is no surprise to find the ACCC blocking ANZ’s takeover of Suncorp. It is eye-catching, though, to see the regulator naming a deal it would prefer to see happen.

Chris Wright, August 07, 2023

Opinion

GIC portfolio mix heralds the top for private equity

Thirty percent of Singapore sovereign fund’s portfolio is in private equity or real estate. Surely this is as good as it gets for private markets.

Chris Wright, July 31, 2023

BANKING

India’s banks show the impact of a buzzing economy and digital uplift

Credit growth is a key driver of stellar earnings from India’s banks as the country completes its recovery from Covid-19, but another driver is digital traction.

Chris Wright, July 24, 2023

Opinion

What Temasek is doing after seven-year low

Temasek, as an equity-only sovereign wealth vehicle, had a bad year. A close look at its portfolio positioning helps us understand what it is doing about it.

Chris Wright, July 19, 2023

Fintech

Africa needs equity capital to drive its digital transformation

What African fintechs need is supportive regulation, local capital and the development of talent. Singapore wants to show them the way.

Chris Wright, June 30, 2023

Fintech

Partnerships are key to driving financial innovation in Africa

Tyme Bank’s experience with grant recipients in South Africa demonstrates the need to link up banking innovation to the real-world requirements of customers.

Chris Wright, June 23, 2023

BANKING

Deutsche and Barclays eye private credit opportunity in wake of Credit Suisse takeover

When Credit Suisse is taken over by UBS, it’s likely that the new parent’s appetite for structured private credit will be significantly different to that of the institution it is absorbing. Two banks in particular are waiting for the opportunity that follows.

Chris Wright, June 19, 2023

Fintech

MUFG launches stablecoin platform as new law takes effect

Japan is the first major market to put a regulatory environment around stablecoins into law.

Chris Wright, June 09, 2023

BANKING

Banking: Indonesia in the sweet spot

Indonesia is one of the world’s brighter prospects right now: growth, demographics, infrastructure momentum, inflation under control, more equity raised in the first quarter in Jakarta than New York. Banks are positioning to benefit – while keeping an eye on next year’s elections.

Chris Wright, May 31, 2023

Opinion

Morgan Stanley surprises in Asian investment banking

How on earth, in this environment, did the bank deliver one of its best-ever quarters in Asia?

Chris Wright, April 26, 2023

Opinion

Lessons from the Rakuten Bank IPO

Tech-related bank deals can still get away, but investors call the shots now.

Chris Wright, April 21, 2023

Opinion

Is Australia’s boring banking model fit for rising rates?

Australian banks adore residential mortgages. But they are ignoring a cohort of people who are going to run into a lot of trouble with repayments.

Chris Wright, April 17, 2023

Opinion

Combining UBS and Credit Suisse in Asia – the potential and the reality

The two bank’s investment banking franchises look enticingly well-matched. But how much business and how many bankers will still be around after the merger?

Chris Wright, April 06, 2023

Opinion

Japan’s banks watch inflation with rising concern

Inflation has returned to the country for the first time in 30 years. As it does so, there is a new face at the helm of the Bank of Japan. What does it mean for the megabanks?

Chris Wright, March 13, 2023

Opinion

How Macquarie took on the world

From small beginnings as the offshoot of a British merchant bank in 1969, Macquarie has become the world’s largest infrastructure asset manager, a powerful investment bank, a global commodities player and several other things besides. It has built all of this through a distinct culture built on risk management, individual empowerment and a capacity for constant reinvention – but it hasn’t always been popular along the way. A new book by Euromoney’s senior editor in Asia Chris Wright and Joyce Moullakis examines the journey.

Chris Wright, February 27, 2023

CAPITAL MARKETS

Congress protest against investments in Adani Group in New Delhi

India’s Adani: Anatomy of a crisis

A day-by-day account of Adani’s stunning collapse in value.

Chris Wright, February 22, 2023

CAPITAL MARKETS

Where does the fallout from the Adani crisis take India now?

A two-week period saw Adani Group attacked by a short seller, abandon a $2.5 billion share offer and lose $100 billion in market value. What next? And what does it mean for Modi’s India?

Chris Wright, February 20, 2023

Opinion

Vision Fund woes paint a bleak picture for tech bankers

Yet another multi-billion-dollar loss on investments in SoftBank’s Vision Funds speaks to a malaise that is hurting the tech teams of investment banks in Asia.

Chris Wright, February 09, 2023

Opinion

India: Adani row strikes at the heart of a tangled political story

A report by a US short-seller hammered the stock of India’s Adani Group companies just as one of them tried to raise $2.5 billion in a follow-on. It was not just Adani under attack here, but Modi’s vision of corporate India.

Chris Wright, January 30, 2023

Opinion

StanChart back in play as Abu Dhabi bid revealed

First Abu Dhabi Bank looked long and hard at Standard Chartered, and others will do the same so long as it’s cheap. But any suitor must win the approval of Temasek.

Chris Wright, January 09, 2023

CAPITAL MARKETS

Sovereign funds lost $1 trillion in 2022 – but where?

A new study attempts to quantify the damage of 2022 for sovereign wealth funds. Beneath the numbers are tumultuous levels of deal activity, as funds tried to take advantage and position for the long term.

Chris Wright, January 05, 2023

CAPITAL MARKETS

Can investors still find an edge in private markets?

Sovereign wealth and pension funds have poured into private and illiquid asset classes over the last 10 years.

Chris Wright, December 21, 2022

BANKING

Stoehr the most senior of Credit Suisse’s Asia exodus

The Greater China CEO represents a loss of seniority, experience and gravitas. And his is not the only exit from the Swiss bank’s Asia operations.

Chris Wright, December 15, 2022

Fintech

What went wrong with the ASX blockchain landmark?

The Australian Securities Exchange took a leap of faith in commissioning Digital Asset to build a blockchain replacement for its clearing and settlement engine five years ago – perhaps too big a leap. Here, Digital Asset’s CEO explains what went wrong and what was learned.

Chris Wright, December 12, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

The Philippines gets a sovereign wealth fund

Maharlika Investments Fund looks like it will be a development vehicle that takes Indonesia for inspiration.

Chris Wright, November 30, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

CIC had a fine 2021, but how will this year look?

China Investment Corporation’s annual reviews are always out of date, but they provide clues to what is happening now.

Chris Wright, November 28, 2022

BANKING

MUFG’s consumer finance deals show southeast Asia is Japan’s banking future

The purchase of Home Credit’s businesses in the Philippines and Indonesia fits with a trend to seek growth outside Japan.

Chris Wright, November 24, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Have private markets reached saturation?

Sovereign wealth funds have swamped private markets over the last decade, but there are questions whether the pace of investment can continue.

Chris Wright, November 21, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Temasek bares its soul on FTX failure

In a highly unusual step, Singapore’s sovereign wealth vehicle has spelled out how and why it bought into the FTX story.

Chris Wright, November 17, 2022

BANKING

How Georgia turned a neighbour’s war to its economic advantage

The country has one of the world’s best-performing economies with one of the few emerging market currencies to be appreciating against the dollar. It also has large numbers of highly skilled Russians fleeing across the border to avoid conscription. National Bank of Georgia governor Koba Gvenetadze speaks to Euromoney.

Chris Wright, November 16, 2022

ESG

ADB: In West Java, an energy transition landmark

Saving the planet requires shutting down coal plants while also ensuring the livelihood of the people who depend on them. The ADB has a plan.

Chris Wright, November 14, 2022

Fintech

Inside Onyx: How JPMorgan’s blockchain unit is changing banking

The chief executive of JPMorgan’s Onyx blockchain business explains why it has been a long slog, and where the interest lies today after the crypto collapse.

Chris Wright, November 10, 2022

Fintech

MAS in DeFi landmark trade

DBS, JPMorgan and Japan’s SBI combined to launch a groundbreaking decentralized finance trade stewarded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It was a great deal of work, but to what end?

Chris Wright, November 03, 2022

BANKING

Principal credit the latest engine for Macquarie

As spreads widen for credit, Macquarie is rushing in.

Chris Wright, October 31, 2022

Opinion

HSBC offers more questions than answers

Georges Elhedery’s move to the CFO role at HSBC has raised eyebrows among observers seeking to decode it. What does it mean for Elhedery, what happened to incumbent Ewen Stevenson, and what does it say about CEO Noel Quinn?

Chris Wright, October 27, 2022

Opinion

Why Islamic finance remains a tale of local power

Islamic finance remains a federation of country-level success stories with no comparable global narrative. Does it matter if that’s where it stays?

Chris Wright, October 26, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Aerial photo of the highway over the Corinth canal in the Peloponnese, Greece

The fund to reinvent Greece

Growthfund was formed six years ago as a steward for Greek state-owned enterprises in the hope of improving and extracting value from them. As chief executive Gregory Dimitriadis explains, its ambitions now include investment, emission reduction and enabling the flow of capital from the Middle East.

Chris Wright, October 24, 2022

BANKING

How Kotak became a player in special situations

Kotak Investment Advisors, the special situations arm of Kotak Mahindra, could have $9 billion under management by early next year. It is led by Srini Sriniwasan, who has applied skills learned at Goldman Sachs to develop the business to where it is today.

Chris Wright, October 11, 2022

Opinion

Where next for Islamic finance? Revolutionizing reserves

Islamic finance has a choice: continue on its existing path and consolidate its hard-earned gains in market share, or shake the whole thing up. One proposal calls for an end to the fractional-reserve banking system.

Chris Wright, October 07, 2022

BANKING

How Chaudhry will use Citi deal to boost Axis ambition

Amitabh Chaudhry seeks to elevate Axis from its strong position in India to a premium one. The purchase of Citi’s consumer finance business will help – but only if it can keep Citi’s customers.

Chris Wright, October 03, 2022

ESG

Malaysia shows the way for ESG sukuk issuance

The launch of an SRI-linked sukuk framework this summer is a blueprint for others to follow.

Chris Wright, October 03, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

India savours the power of the domestic bid

In previous years, the outflow of foreign portfolio investment that characterized the first seven months of the year in India would have caused a market collapse. This time, it didn’t. The difference: Indian retail finding its voice.

Chris Wright, September 16, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

India’s M&A opportunity begins at home

Where once Indian companies went overseas to seek technology, brand and scale, today – thanks to the strength and ambition of private capital – better opportunities can be found at home.

Chris Wright, September 16, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

It’s time for India’s economy to shine

India’s refusal to take a side over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is typical of a geopolitical approach that aims to keep everyone onside – to India’s advantage. Doing so helps the country to keep inflation in check, the one threat to an exceptionally powerful domestic story that is enticing the banking sector.

Chris Wright, September 16, 2022

ESG

Piyush-Gupta-thinking-crrdit DBS-960.jpg

DBS sets carbon targets for clients as well as itself

The Singaporean bank has launched sector-specific decarbonization commitments it says are industry-leading. For them to be achieved, the bank’s corporate client base is going to need to make changes, too.

Chris Wright, September 13, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Rakuten prepares digital bank IPO despite dismal market

Rakuten’s adventures in mobile have given the Japanese e-commerce group a rabid thirst for capital. So much so that it is prepared to list the group’s digital bank at the worst possible time.

Chris Wright, September 09, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Future Fund shows benefits of alternatives, but it’s a crowded field

Logging only a 1.2% decline over the past year is good going for Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, testament to a policy to build an inflation-ready portfolio relying heavily on private markets.

Chris Wright, September 02, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Pentagreen launches with Temasek and HSBC backing

A new platform aims to help get troublesome sustainable infrastructure projects financed. Its chief executive explains to Euromoney the ambitions and challenges ahead.

Chris Wright, September 02, 2022

Fintech

Singapore’s digital banks reach start line

The launch of new digital banks backed by Standard Chartered, FairPrice, Grab and Singtel comes at an interesting time. Both emerge into a very different world than the one in which they applied for licences. Success will rest upon exploiting the ecosystems of their founders.

Chris Wright, September 01, 2022

Opinion

Thailand’s New Hope is a common emerging market story

There is reason for optimism in Thailand’s recovery from Covid. But comments from the country’s central bank governor and finance minister underscore one of the central challenges for officials in countries like this: that so much is out of their hands.

Chris Wright, August 24, 2022

Opinion

When did Covid provisions turn to post-Covid?

HSBC’s interim result shows that banks are drawing a line under pandemic-related provisions, while simultaneously setting aside new ones for the disease’s economic cure. All banks must make this transition, but HSBC has other things to worry about besides: a campaign from China’s Ping An to split the bank in half.

Chris Wright, August 01, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

How Canada’s funds went from local pioneers to global leaders

Groups such as Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, CDPQ and British Columbia Investment were forerunners in the development of new private-market asset classes, particularly infrastructure. Euromoney traces the evolution of the funds’ approaches and scale to the point where they are desired partners for private assets worldwide.

Chris Wright, July 26, 2022

BANKING

ANZ’s Suncorp takeover shows nothing changes in Australian banking

The merger, if it gets through the competition regulators, underlines the fact that nothing matters more in Australian banking than mortgages.

Chris Wright, July 18, 2022

Awards for Excellence

Financial innovation of the year 2022: DBS – FIX Marketplace drags DCM into the digital age

DBS has taken the boldest step yet in digital DCM, encouraging corporate and financial borrowers to self-issue commercial paper direct to investors. Volumes are strong. The next step, longer-dated bonds, will come soon.

Chris Wright, July 14, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Temasek’s shrinking China holdings don’t mean it’s leaving

At first glance, Temasek’s long-standing ardour for China seems to be fading. Its mainland holdings have had a shocker of a year, but the Singapore fund is buying.

Chris Wright, July 12, 2022

BANKING

Medalla steps in to top job at Philippine central bank

The top ranks of Philippine finance are shuffling after the election of Bongbong Marcos as president. Felipe Medalla takes the reins at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, where he faces a challenge in fostering economic recovery while keeping inflation from getting out of hand.

Chris Wright, July 07, 2022

Fintech

Raya brings finance to Indonesia’s rural agent force

BRI’s digital banking unit is using a vast agent ecosystem to distribute its products to Indonesia’s gig economy.

Chris Wright, July 06, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Techcombank landmarks show Vietnam’s potential

A record-breaking syndicated financing for one of Vietnam’s most interesting banks tells us much about investor sentiment towards the borrower and the country.

Chris Wright, July 04, 2022

BANKING

Overseas Filipino Bank: The capstone of six years of financial momentum

The Duterte presidency had many problems, but it gave the Philippine central bank and finance ministry room to enact significant change in tax, digital reach, infrastructure and fiscal policy. OF Bank will be among its legacies.

Chris Wright, May 30, 2022

Opinion

Foreign houses seek footholds in Australian banking

Lombard Odier joins Barclays and Nomura in hoping to grow partnerships and shareholdings in a market that is heavily banked but underpinned by a vast institutional bid and a belated surge towards sustainability.

Chris Wright, May 27, 2022

Opinion

Macquarie’s American adventure continues

Almost half of the Australian group’s record profit came from the Americas this year. Will Macquarie still call Australia home?

Chris Wright, May 06, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Sovereign wealth lessons from an isolated Cree nation

In frozen far northern Alberta, Euromoney meets perhaps the world’s least likely sovereign wealth fund, investing compensation settlement money for Canada’s Little Red River Cree Nation. It is rigorous, disciplined and sophisticated, and reminds us that sustainable finance has been around for centuries.

Chris Wright, April 28, 2022

BANKING

Financial protest in Myanmar turns lethal

The attack follows the introduction of new foreign currency rules.

Chris Wright, April 14, 2022

BANKING

Weerasinghe returns to Sri Lanka’s central bank as country’s finances spiral

With civil unrest, the resignation of half the cabinet and a standstill on sovereign debt repayment, Sri Lanka’s new finance minister, secretary to the treasury and governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka have a lot to do.

Chris Wright, April 14, 2022

Opinion

GoTo braves tech sentiment to launch a deal of significance for Indonesia

The IPO of Indonesia’s GoTo is a big moment not just for the issuer but for the exchange that changed the rules to accommodate it and for the entirely domestic joint lead manager group.

Chris Wright, April 12, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Serendipity brings power of the Rolodex to early-stage investment

A Singapore-based investment vehicle fronted by former Commonwealth Bank of Australia CFO Rob Jesudason aims to invest in financial disruptors that will complement the industry without reinventing it.

Chris Wright, April 06, 2022

BANKING

Shinhan’s Cho on life at 40

Shinhan’s landmark anniversary comes as its chairman tries to navigate an unpredictable global environment, the threat of big technology in Korea and the opportunities of expansion in Vietnam.

Chris Wright, March 31, 2022

BANKING

KakaoBank turns to platform growth

South Korea’s KakaoBank is unusual among Asian pure-play digital banks, in that it is not only growing fast but is also profitable. Having harvested the low-hanging fruit of wallet balances, it is now building higher-fee products. And last year’s listing showed just how much belief there is in the story.

Chris Wright, March 31, 2022

Opinion

Is Citi putting its money where its mouth is in Asia?

With consumer business sales mostly finalized in Asia, attention turns now to Jane Fraser’s commitment to devote the proceeds to growth in the region. We are seeing early signs.

Chris Wright, March 29, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Park Jung-ho: Korea’s Mr M&A

Park Jung-ho is a key executive in three arms of the SK chaebol, Korea’s third-largest. In more than 30 years he has developed a reputation as a dealmaker, whose key transactions – buying Hynix, Toshiba’s memory business and a major division of Intel – are seen as corporate landmarks. He explains his approach to Euromoney in Seoul.

Chris Wright, March 25, 2022

Opinion

Bankers welcome Korean president Yoon – but with a catch

Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea’s new president, is seen as pro-business and pro-market reform. Bankers are delighted, but there’s also a nagging doubt that populist policies that favour retail investors over institutional have crept in to win votes.

Chris Wright, March 23, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Exodus: Can Hong Kong stem the outflow of financial talent?

As Covid fatalities rise fast, senior bankers are fleeing a city that, despite today's relaxation of some rules, is increasingly cut off from the world. Will Hong Kong ever be the same again?

Elliot Wilson, March 21, 2022

Opinion

The day the sanction call comes

What practical steps do banks have to take when a client falls foul of a sanction list?

Chris Wright, March 17, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

How Buffett’s Japan trading house bid paid off

Few could understand the reasoning when Berkshire Hathaway bought into Japan’s five creaking, antiquated trading houses in 2020. But a spate of record results has vindicated Warren Buffett’s decision.

Chris Wright, March 07, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Sovereign funds abandon Russia but find themselves short of exits

Several sovereign funds have either pledged to leave Russia or are considering doing so. But how will they get out? Could their exit enrich those that sanctions are intended to penalize?

Chris Wright, March 03, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Russia sale is a fly in the ointment among Citi’s consumer exits

Jane Fraser can front Citi’s investor day with good news about consumer divestments in Asia. It is hard to see a Russia sale now, though.

Chris Wright, March 02, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF)

Russia sanctions hit wealth fund RDIF

The US has named Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and its chief executive in strikingly harsh language as part of its sanctions package. Is RDIF ‘a slush fund for president Vladimir Putin’ or a legitimate vehicle ‘building international relations and supporting constructive ties’?

Chris Wright, March 01, 2022

Opinion

Toshiba still at loggerheads with shareholders on revamp plan

Toshiba has unveiled a new restructuring format, but its roster of activist shareholders would much prefer the business be taken private.

Chris Wright, February 15, 2022

Opinion

Australian cartel case collapse raises questions of regulatory overreach

For four years, a criminal case brought by an Australian regulator against Citi, Deutsche Bank, ANZ and six bankers who were facing jail has looked ill-judged, acting retrospectively against common market practice in a share placement. Now it has collapsed and lessons need to be learned

Chris Wright, February 11, 2022

BANKING

DBS receives public rebuke and capital hit over digital outages

The censure from the Monetary Authority of Singapore will sting far more than any capital impact for a bank that prides itself on being a peerless digital innovator.

Chris Wright, February 08, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Will LIC prove a new resilience in India ECM?

The float of LIC will shatter all of India’s records in the equity capital markets. It is also an opportunity to prove a newfound maturity in India, already illustrated by a range of highly successful tech deals in 2021.

Chris Wright, February 02, 2022

BANKING

DBS buys Citi’s consumer crown jewel in Taiwan

Of all the 13 consumer businesses on the block in Citi’s Asia revamp, Taiwan was the most prized. DBS’s successful bid bolsters an already profitable business – and doing so required some hard thinking about geopolitics by the Singapore bank’s board.

Chris Wright, January 28, 2022

BANKING

UOB snaps up Citi Asean operations

In a good deal for both parties, Citi makes progress on its programme of consumer business sales in Asia, while UOB gets an instant boost to its heft in Asean.

Chris Wright, January 14, 2022

ESG

Hong Kong airport authority kicks off greenwashing debate with landmark issue

A ‘remarkable’ global dollar bond from Airport Authority Hong Kong raises the question of whether any member of the aviation sector should include a green tranche within its funding structure.

Chris Wright, January 13, 2022

BANKING

Crédit Agricole CIB’s Australia launch shows the allure of an in-vogue market

The firm has joined Barclays and Jefferies, as well as start-ups Jarden Australia and Barrenjoey, in bolstering its presence in Australia. What’s the appeal of this heavily banked market?

Chris Wright, January 04, 2022

THE EUROMONEY 25