.jpg&h=630&w=1200&q=100&v=5f99a4b43f&c=1 "UOB banks on Asean development story")
Driving on the area’s development momentum, Asean gives more and more interesting alternatives for capital elevating and advisory providers that UOB is concentrated on tapping into.
“We see enormous alternatives in Asean,” mentioned Leong, pointing to the huge scope for cross-border commerce, which UOB estimates is price greater than $2 trillion. “This may even drive quite a lot of the exercise in FDI flows that can create CapEx and M&A alternatives.”
The financial institution is effectively positioned to capitalise on these. Its international community counts over 500 workplaces in Southeast Asia, Larger China and all over the world, catering to giant, medium and small enterprises from multinationals and sovereign wealth funds, to monetary sponsors and the SME sector.
“We concentrate on the thematics and the options that drive financial exercise and cross-border commerce within the area,” added Leong.
A promising issuance outlook
Inside Asean, UOB sees two key drivers for issuance quantity: refinancing and development capital.
The potential for refinancing can’t be underestimated. In response to Leong, greater than $300 billion in bonds might be due for refinancing in Asia ex-Japan over the subsequent 12 months. And final yr’s issuance quantity may solely fulfill half of that.
Because of this, he defined, with rates of interest within the US staying greater for longer, UOB envisages Asean native forex markets to have the ability to fulfill these wants.
In the meantime, development capital will proceed to be an essential supply of issuance. “We see frequent issuers faucet the native bond markets. Additionally, with home funds and excessive internet price liquidity chasing greater returns and yield, fairness capital markets will rebound when it comes to IPOs,” mentioned Leong.
Thematics to drive Asean’s potential
A number of supportive thematics additionally underscore the area’s potential for capital elevating and advisory providers.
Firstly, the provision chain shift – each when it comes to China+1 in addition to Western companies getting into Asean – will gasoline quite a lot of CapEx wants and financing throughout sectors similar to high-end electronics in Vietnam and Malaysia.
Auto manufacturing is one other development story, particularly in Thailand and Malaysia, together with the electrical car provide chain, together with battery sources in Indonesia.
Knowledge centres symbolize one other sector the place Leong sees vital alternative. This in flip drives manufacturing of synthetic intelligence-related tools, plus the necessity for energy, and specifically, renewables infrastructure.
On the identical time, home consumption continues to be robust inside Asean, together with excessive round development sectors like healthcare, training and logistics.
A differentiated set of options
To anchor UOB’s Asean imaginative and prescient is what Leong describes as a well-balanced and counter-cyclical funding banking platform that may stand up to headwinds from volatility, plus profit from the tailwinds of robust public markets. “Our strengths have at all times been specializing in shopper wants and being much less transactional.”
This strategy is rooted in three core methods: connectivity, customised options and sustainability.
For instance, connectivity stems from UOB’s providing because the One Financial institution for ASEAN. “We now have at all times been in a position to supply a broad vary of funding banking providers to our shopper base who’re energetic on this area,” Leong mentioned.
The financial institution is ready to ship these by bringing collectively groups that may present customised multi-product capital markets and advisory options. “This has been essential for us to win and safe repeat mandates from purchasers,” he defined.
To enrich these dynamics, UOB has persistently organized $40 billion to $50 billion in sustainability financing throughout the area yearly. Additional, added Leong, UOB was the primary bookrunner and mandated lead arranger in 2024 for inexperienced loans in Asia ex-Japan.
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