The Asia’s Treasury & FX Poll is an annual survey-based analysis of the views of corporate treasury, finance, investment and risk-management decision-makers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
It is designed to establish:
- The leading treasury, liquidity, funding and FX-risk priorities of Asian corporates and institutions.
- The most significant barriers to effective cash, liquidity, funding and currency-risk management.
- The size, source, currency and time horizon of respondents’ FX exposures.
- The maturity of hedging policies, treasury technology, analytics and execution capability.
- The factors that determine whether clients appoint, retain, consolidate or expand relationships with treasury and FX banks.
Cash and liquidity management continues to sit at the top of the treasury agenda, while financial-market risk remains central.
EDITORIAL OUTPUT:
- Results are expressed as a percentage of respondents in each market.
- Questions 1, 5, 6B, 8 and 9 are multiple-response questions; their results can therefore total more than 100%.
- Percentages in single-selection questions may not total exactly 100% due to rounding.
- Fieldwork takes place in December, with questions focused on current arrangements and anticipated decisions over the following 12–24 months.
- Do not require disclosure of specific hedge rates, transaction details, counterparty names, notional amounts, trading profits/losses or confidential facility limits.
- Keep mandatory monetary and risk questions in broad ranges, and include “prefer not to say” where sensitivity is high.
COVERAGE:
The treasury and foreign-exchange poll targets people who own liquidity, funding, balance-sheet and FX-risk decisions, as well as those who execute hedging, operate treasury systems and manage institutional portfolios. It covers both corporate and institutional clients, because bank treasury and markets businesses serve very different but complementary needs: corporate hedging and liquidity on one side; portfolio, funding, custody, collateral and investment flows on the other.
The target universe combines corporate treasury users, corporate FX users and institutional investment/funding clients and includes both senior decision-makers and selected operational specialists, including Group Treasurer, CFO, Head of Treasury, CIO or Head of Investments.
Sector-wise:
- Manufacturing and electronics.
- Commodities, agriculture, palm oil, mining and energy.
- Consumer goods, retail and distribution.
- Logistics, aviation, shipping and travel.
- Technology, e-commerce, platforms and payments.
- Real estate, REITs, construction and infrastructure.
- Healthcare, pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
- Financial institutions, insurers and asset managers.
- Export-oriented SMEs and family-owned groups.
| # | Respondent | Titles |
| 1 | MNC regional treasury leaders | Group Treasurer, Regional Treasurer, Treasury Director, Head of Treasury, Assistant Treasurer |
| 2 | MNC CFOs and finance directors | Group CFO, Regional CFO, Finance Director, VP Finance |
| 3 | Large local corporates and conglomerates | Group Treasurer, Corporate Treasurer, CFO, Finance Director, Head of Corporate Finance |
| 4 | Treasury operations and middle-office specialists | Treasury Manager, Treasury Operations Manager, Treasury Controller, Treasury Risk Manager, Treasury Systems Manager |
| 5 | SME and mid-market CFOs | CFO, Finance Director, Financial Controller, Head of Finance, Owner-Manager |
| 6 | Exporters, importers and cross-border traders | CFO, Treasurer, Finance Manager, Export Director, Import Director, Commercial Finance Head |
| 7 | Foreign-invested companies and regional headquarters | Regional CFO, Regional Treasurer, Head of Finance, Shared Services Director |
| 8 | Private-equity-backed companies and family-owned groups | CFO, Treasurer, Finance Controller, Operating Partner, Family Office Finance Head |
| 9 | Insurers and reinsurance companies | CIO, Chief Investment Officer, Treasurer, Head of Investments, Head of ALM, Chief Risk Officer |
| 10 | Asset managers and mutual funds | CIO, Portfolio Manager, Head of Fixed Income, Head of FX, Chief Operating Officer, Head of Trading |
| 11 | Pension, provident and retirement funds | CIO, Head of Investments, Head of Risk, Treasurer, Chief Operating Officer |
| 12 | Sovereign wealth funds, government-linked investors and public-sector investment bodies | CIO, Deputy CIO, Head of Treasury, Head of External Managers, Head of Risk |
| 13 | REITs, property groups and infrastructure companies | CFO, Treasurer, Head of Corporate Finance, Head of Investor Relations |
| 14 | Commodity producers, processors and energy companies | Treasurer, CFO, Head of Risk, Head of Commodities, Finance Director |
| 15 | Digital platforms, e-commerce firms and payments businesses | CFO, Head of Treasury, Head of Payments, Head of Financial Operations, Risk Director |
| 16 | Logistics, airlines, shipping and travel groups | Group Treasurer, CFO, Head of Risk, Head of Corporate Finance |
REPORTING CONVENTIONS:
- Q1, Q4 exposure types, Q5, Q6B, Q8 and Q9 permit multiple selections, so totals may exceed 100%.
- Q2, Q3, Q4 hedging coverage, Q6A and Q7 results are single selection or mutually exclusive response scales.
- Percentages may not total precisely 100% because of rounding.
- “FX exposure” refers to gross annual pre-hedging exposure from trade, debt, investments, intercompany flows and other material foreign-currency obligations.
Editorial findings:
2024 Outlook: Funding cost and basic risk control: The 2023 result show a high-rate environment in which companies prioritise liquidity forecasts, borrowing cost, cash visibility, FX protection and practical controls. Indonesia and the Philippines show the greatest sensitivity to funding cost and more limited hedging maturity, while Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand show more active use of forwards, natural hedging and technology-enabled treasury processes.
2025 Outlook: Connectivity and liquidity optimisation: By December 2024, stronger growth, investment and exports shift the emphasis from pure preservation toward liquidity optimisation, digital integration and cross-border treasury management. Malaysia and Singapore show the fastest progression toward APIs, integrated treasury data and electronic FX execution. Indonesia and Thailand show growing interest in formalising FX exposure capture and hedging, while the Philippines remains focused on borrowing cost, forecasts and payment controls.
2026 Outlook: Volatility management and selective automation: The December 2025 poll combines more stable inflation and easier financial conditions with renewed uncertainty around trade policy, geopolitics, export demand and currencies. The result is a shift toward FX scenario analysis, hedge-policy review, liquidity stress testing and technology investment. Singapore shows the strongest demand for AI-enabled risk analytics, sophisticated options, swaps, portfolio overlays and real-time integration. Malaysia advances toward automated exposure capture and cash/FX integration. Indonesia and Thailand place greater weight on hedge timing, derivative access, pricing and FX resilience. The Philippines continues to prioritise forecasting, affordability of hedging and payment security. The IMF estimated that ASEAN growth slowed to 4.3% in 2025 from 4.8% in 2024, while emerging-Asia disinflation continued; the resulting combination of slower external activity and more manageable inflation makes treasury efficiency and risk calibration more important than broad defensive cash hoarding.
Editorial:
Asian Treasurers Recalibrate for Volatility: FX Risk, Liquidity Data and Digital Execution Move to the Fore
Report findings:
- FX pricing and liquidity remain non-negotiable. Across every market, transparent execution, competitive pricing and access to derivative limits rank among the most important factors in selecting a treasury and FX bank.
- The addressable opportunity differs by market. Indonesia and the Philippines offer the strongest opportunity in foundational hedging, advisory, funding, forecasting and digital onboarding. Malaysia and Thailand offer increasing demand for integration, centralisation and more active hedging. Singapore is the leading market for complex multicurrency, derivatives, investment and data/analytics propositions.
- Technology is becoming a commercial differentiator. API connectivity, exposure aggregation, electronic dealing and real-time data increasingly influence bank selection, especially among MNCs, regional treasury centres, large exporters and institutional investors.
- Sophisticated risk products must follow, not replace, core treasury infrastructure. Options, cross-currency swaps, rate derivatives, portfolio overlay and AI analytics are most relevant once a client has reliable exposure data, policy governance, operational workflows and risk limits.
- Institutional and corporate needs should be marketed differently. Corporate clients tend to prioritise margin protection, trade exposures, debt servicing, cash forecasting and execution cost. Institutional clients are more likely to prioritise portfolio FX overlays, market liquidity, custody integration, collateral management, duration risk and cross-asset hedging.
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