Prime Minister John Howard’s re-election is a reflection of the conservatism that pervades the country and its banking sector, says Stephen Timewell in Melbourne.

Recently I was looking at the mountain of stuffed toys that my two young children have and was comparing this to the lone, high-cost teddy bear I had when I was the same age in the 1960s. The mountain of stuffed, “made in China” toys of today probably, collectively, did not cost as much as that teddy of yore. Who will make the stuffed toys 40 years from now when the Chinese economy evolves into a higher wage economy than it is today?

China is finding it feet and the right political tone for dealing with Hong Kong as the region’s economic fortunes ascend.

Nomura may not be the swashbuckling firm that it was in the 1980s and 1990s but, according to Zenji Nakamura, head of global markets, Europe, that will not prevent it from regaining a more prominent position in the international capital markets. Geraldine Lambe finds out how it intends to flex its Asian advantage.

The Philippine government is taking significant steps to improve the country’s economy. But much still needs to be done. Stephen Timewell reports.

Tim Clissold argues that the Chinese economy of a decade ago has been completely transformed and is now quite capable of rising to the challenge of excessive growth.

The excitement surrounding the opening up of China’s financial markets is considerable. Exchanges across the world have been fighting to set up alliances with potential local counterparts, and the banks that have long competed to establish themselves in a prominent position in the market have recently stepped up a gear, hiring and investing strongly in the country. However, there is still one area of potential growth that invites considerable scepticism from bankers and industry observers: the bond market.

Small city banks in China are becoming more popular with foreign investors wanting to establish a foothold in the country’s fast-growing retail banking market.

Chinese banks are aggressively disposing of their non-performing loans (NPLs), in preparation for their imminent listing in overseas stock markets. In recent months, the China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of China and Bank of Communications have sold about Rmb323bn ($38.9bn) of bad loans to domestic and foreign investors.

Chairman and Managing Director, Industrial Development Bank of India