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The Jakarta leg of our Asean Bond Markets Roundtable discussions for 2015.

Philippine bank supervisors, like their counterparts elsewhere, face a complex and often thankless task. But unlike regulators in many other countries, they also face the risk of being taken to court and suspended from their jobs if banks decide to bite back. The problem is a longstanding one, but it is finally starting to be addressed, as Matthew Thomas reports.

A report by Scope Ratings last week on the German corporate Schuldschein market shone a bright and what must have been at times uncomfortable light on its subject.

This week’s stunning slide in the Malaysian ringgit has rocked markets, as the currency slipped to a 17 year low against the dollar. That weakness is now spilling over into capital markets. The slump is shutting out activity for certain sectors and forcing domestic companies to rethink — or abandon — their fundraising plans, writes John Loh.

A $1.5bn chunk of financing backing the acquisition of the LED and automotive lighting division of Dutch company Philips has become a talking point because of its low amortisation and seven-year tenor. Syndication has closed for the deal, but it was too aggressive for some, as Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Myanmar has stepped up its efforts to establish the country’s first modern stock exchange following the release of a series of listing criteria last week. The high standard of the requirements means only a handful of companies will be eligible to list, but bigger issues will in any case need to be addressed before the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) can launch, writes Rev Hui.

A spike in Asian green bond issuance this year has not yet spurred the use of the instrument by borrowers in the Asean region, where the conventional debt markets already face challenges as they develop. But credit enhancements and strong precedents from neighbouring countries could help generate more green activity in southeast Asia, writes Christina Khouri.

Romance for young, single investment bankers usually falls prey to their notorious working hours and stressful work.

Liquidity is always good, right? Helping investors switch out of positions should help issuers improve their funding costs. But the relationship between primary markets and secondary liquidity is darker and more troubled than that.

Some market observers are concerned China’s first margin loan ABS could be sowing the seeds of a new crisis. But it's too early to condemn such a new product — and one that regulators will be watching closely.

Silver considers a new life as a romantic poet.

Less than two weeks after China's first margin loan ABS made its debut the product seems to have already struck a chord with the country’s brokerage industry. One of the top Chinese brokers, Citic Securities, obtained board approval on August 14 to sell up Rmb1.5bn ($235m) of ABS over the next two years.