Awards

Investment banks are constantly innovating their structured products offering, as companies wise up to risk management and demand better ways to enhance yields. Keri Geiger reports on the winners of Asiamoney's first ever Structured Products Poll and investigates the complex and highly profitable business that's exploding in Asia.

The Asian financial crisis underlined the need for companies to get their FX strategy right and placed more pressure on the major banks to offer reliable FX solutions and hedging opportunities. But with clients becoming more and more agnostic to brands, as virtually identical e-commerce platforms proliferate, it makes the playing field more intense than ever.

HSBC swept the board in Asiamoney's inaugural 2004 trade finance poll, seizing the top spot in every major category to emerge as the best trade finance bank in Asia.

Find out who the winners are in Asiamoney's 14th FX Poll. See who managed to storm to the top, who fell down and who is simply the best at FX in Asia.

Asia's Most Admired Brands 2004. Presented by Asiamoney in association with The Brand Company

HSBC takes the crown from Citigroup for Overall Best Cross-border Cash Management Bank in Asia for 2004. JPMorgan is the top pick for financial institutions.

In Asiamoney's second poll to find out the best cash management service providers according to the region's financial institutions, produced some surprises.

Find out the performance of equity indexes and gold.

The region's banking industry has changed yet further. And there are yet more credible contenders in the local markets for the award of Best Domestic Bank. With the region's local commercial banks attempting to counter the increasing competition from global institutions and the shrinking returns in their own saturated domestic markets. The nets are being cast wider as they devise regional acquisition strategies in other countries in order to compete.

Japan's investment bankers were noticeably pessimistic at the start of 2003. But only 12 months later, after an array of successful, groundbreaking deals, the mood was thoroughly optimistic. Fiona Haddock reports on the highlights.

Banks are striving to adapt their offerings to keep pace with the fast-changing marketplace for custodial services, write Pauline Loong and Andrew Peck.

From the Iraq war to the devastating SARS outbreak, 2003 was a year most would rather forget. In Asiamoney's annual travel poll we salute the industry for enduring the challenges. Report by Roy Chew, poll research by Robert Law.