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.

Pakistan has decided to sell 51% of the shares of Habib Bank to the Geneva-based Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) for about $400m in one of the country’s biggest privatisation deals ever, writes Farhan Bokhari.

At a time when growth does not necessarily mean more jobs, governments must take a proactive stance to keep people in work.

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

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.

China’s top banking regulator played Santa Claus to foreign banks weeks before Christmas last year, announcing measures that gave them greater access to the local market.

After a long-term presence in India, HSBC has surprised everyone by buying into the local banking sector in an apparent strategic shift, writes Kala Rao in Mumbai.

The government’s rescue of Ashikaga regional bank illustrates that, while Japan’s economic outlook has improved, there are still areas of concern.