Karina Robinson interviews Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on developments in the region and in his homeland.

Erol Sabanci, chairman of Akbank, tells Stephen Timewell of his optimism on recent sector reforms and the political and economic outlook for Turkey.

The Czech Republic’s distressed debt market is burgeoning. If insolvency law and other legal obstacles are addressed, banks could begin to extend new loans with confidence, says Robert Anderson.

Heavy losses in Poland and a fraud in Hungary have tarnished KBC’s central European crown but it plans to persevere in the region. Nicholas Spiro reports from Warsaw.

Indonesia is looking forward to growth this year, but this depends on whether the government can reduce corruption and achieve political and economic stability, writes Peter Janssen in Jakarta.

Since the Asian crisis, Indonesia’s banking system has been shaken up and streamlined. Despite this, scandals still occur. Tim Johnston assesses progress so far, and discusses what the priorities must be for the recovering industry.

Some companies are already reaping the rewards of a bold decision to invest in Indonesia’s banking sector, but one investor is asking how long they will be able to operate before the big banks decide to move in.

When Indonesia graduated from the IMF programme at the end of last year, it brought to an end a traumatic six-year relationship, but since then the country has emerged stronger and more fiscally disciplined.

Prospects for economic upgrade and liberalisation depend on the results of the coming presidential elections. Dennis Engbarth reports from Taipei.

The cost/benefit analysis for prospective financial criminals in Taiwan has shifted sharply toward higher costs in the wake of the national legislature’s passage on January 13 of stiffer penalties for a wide variety of offences and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s willingness to prosecute influential perpetrators.