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Sometimes, letting your guard down is good. That’s a lesson that South Korea needs to learn when it comes to controlling its currency, as it risks becoming too fearful and controlling.

Flows of capital to emerging markets will increase this year; equity markets will benefit the most, while bonds will stagnate, the IIF predicts

Rating downgrades will still outpace upgrades this year for Asian companies, but the pressure should ease, Moody’s Investors Service says

David Cameron will announce tomorrow that the UK is now heading for a referendum on quitting the EU. Leaving the union would be the biggest threat to London’s financial markets for decades. While europhiles slept, euroscepticism has grown strong in the UK. It’s time it was properly challenged – with the facts.

The possibility of bridge-to-bond loan facilities in CEEMEA has got the region's M&A bankers rubbing their hands with glee. Finally there might be a way to encourage dormant companies to spend again. But bankers should be careful. Focusing too much on this model could put the brakes on investment.

Japan has not been a source of much hope for those in the financial markets in recent years, but equity analysts and investors are starting to become more bullish on the country. It may be too early to break out the champagne, but ECM bankers look set for a good year in a country that rarely offers much in the way of dealflow.

The clamour for, and subsequent success of, Spain’s 10 year syndication may prove to be a landmark in the European sovereign debt crisis. But if Portugal tries to follow with a deal of its own, it will be an exercise in lily-gilding at best. At worst, it will be an unnecessary setback for peripheral sovereign bonds.

The sukuk market has had a very quiet start to the year, compared with 2012. Until Tuesday, domestic deals in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia were all that had appeared. That has all changed with Dubai’s quickfire sovereign benchmark and a multicurrency sukuk programme from Malaysia’s Sime Darby. The hope is that these will get the Islamic finance pipeline flowing again.

Market conditions are strong and it seems that almost any FIG issuer can do a deal. But that doesn't mean they can take liberties. Investors can be forgetful, but more often they remember when they have been taken for granted.

Each year ASIAMONEY picks the standout deal from each Asian country. In Taiwan, the award goes to…

Each year ASIAMONEY picks the standout deal from each Asian country. In Thailand, the award goes to…

Top 3 Southeast Asia DCM Transactions - Last 12-month rolling