Samantha Horton, group chief operating officer and head of international at Syfe, explained to FA some of the mechanics, challenges and attractions of the 2025 deal for the listed firm, and also future regional expansion plans.

Loan defaults in Bangladeshi's banking sector have reached an all-time high of 35.7% of total disbursed loans, posing a severe threat to depositors; elections will take place in February 2026.

The Standard Chartered supported issuance follows the Qatar National Bank’s $500m offering in November.

FinanceAsia's editorial team picks five of the biggest stories from the year across M&A, ECM, digital assets and Trump's tariffs.

Mohamed Braham will assume the Hong Kong-based role in January, while retaining his position as deputy global head of fixed income and currencies.

Alinta Energy is one of Australia’s leading energy retailers and generators. Sembcorp is looking to grow its renewables capacity to 25 GW by 2028.

DK Bank in Gelephu Mindfulness City will commence trading of the gold tokens on December 17. A second phase will see a listing of the tokens, which are backed by Bhutan's reserves, on more exchanges and venues for secondary trading.

YP05002, developed by Yao Pharma, is in Phase 1 clinical development in Australia and can potentially help with metabolic diseases; Yao Pharma will receive an upfront payment of $150m for a worldwide licence.

Cross was most recently chief financial officer at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing.

The Chinese property giant's debt woes will not seriously affect China’s property sector, according to analysts; however, a restructuring might be on the cards.