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In the two years since he was appointed finance minister, Somkid Jatusripitak has presided over an extraordinarily ambitious economic game plan that aims to restore the shine to Thailand's once vaunted economy. Can the brilliant 49-year old academic come up with the results? By Ben Davies.

They won't win the sympathy vote any time soon, but investment bankers are looking increasingly downcast as this year's bonus numbers come through. Several houses are looking at drops of over 50% in certain areas; many will get no bonus at all – those that are still employed, anyway. Chris Wright reports.

“Not another article on estate planning!” you're thinking to yourself. Yes, much has been written of late in the press about estate planning – it seems one can't seem to escape from this seemingly despondent topic these days. By now, you know that estate planning is important. You know that this is a time when terrorism could raise its ugly head and strike at any moment, and Benjamin Franklin's words “in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes” ring even more terrifyingly true. You also know that your family needs you to be prepared should the unspeakable happen. For your own peace of mind you need to have your will drawn up and have your financial matters sorted out so that your family will be financially secure regardless of what happens to you.

Frustrated private bankers are finding it hard to get their hands on the assets of China's burgeoning moneyed class. And when they do, there is very little they can do with them. Brian Power in Shanghai reports on the waiting game with untold potential.

Asia's high net worth individuals expect their millions to work for them, and they don't mind paying for the privilege. But there is a shortage of smart thinkers who can come up with strategies tailored to their requirements, confide the region's wealthy to Pauline Loong.

Estate planning, important in any jurisdiction, is vital in Asia where so many companies are family-owned. A key concern for many in the region is how to protect their wealth effectively for their siblings or children who may one day take over the family business. Jigar Shah discusses succession and asset protection issues, with reference to the Ambani family, owners of Indian petrochemical heavyweight, Reliance.

Quarrelling with the Chinese is something most business people would prefer to avoid. But 61-year-old Maria Cattaui is hoping – in fact, positively lobbying – for a chance to be plonked right in the middle of it all. More precisely, the secretary-general of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is campaigning for a level playing field for foreign and domestic players in commercial arbitration in China. It is an area that has long been, and still is, dominated by a home-grown institute set up years ago by the government to settle commercial disputes amicably.

Two Australian mortgage deals are set to be priced next week, after a three month lull in issuance. The last offering was AMP Bank's A$645m Progress 2002-1 Trust, brought by SG in October. The first domestic deal to be priced should be GBS Receivables Trust No 1, a A$300m debut issue for Greater Building Society. GBS, with 250,000 members, originates A$700m of mortgage loans a year through its 53 branches in New South Wales.

The Republic of the Philippines courted its domestic investor base this week when it returned to the dollar bond market with a $200m one year zero coupon deal. The transaction was launched only three weeks after the sovereign had tapped its 2013 issue for another $500m, and bankers said the sovereign is already gauging bank opinion for a potential follow-up euro issue.

Japan Aozora Bank added another name to the Japanese securitisation market this week with the first issue from a new CLO master trust programme, via Morgan Stanley.

While the global equity markets are in turmoil, there is nevertheless plenty of institutional liquidity in the Taiwanese convertible bond market. Three more deals were priced in the past week, with the terms demonstrating just how adaptable Taiwanese companies have become as they hunt for fresh funds.

Universal Robina delayed, cut and upped the pricing on its $125m five year issue as concerns over North Korea and Iraq took their toll on the Philippines food company's financing plans. The issue was originally marketed as a $100m-$150m deal, at a yield of 8.75%-9%, and was scheduled to be priced last week. But the transaction was delayed until Monday, had to be effectively trimmed in size and was priced at par to offer a 9% coupon and yield, or 618bp over Treasuries.