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In an effort to control spiralling non-performing loans, Bank Mandiri has publicly announced its top bad debtors. Raja Garuda Mas, the pulp and paper operations of business tycoon Sukanto Tanoto, topped the list by a huge margin, a fact the company bitterly disputes. Nick Parsons gains the opinions of both bank and debtor.

PT PP London Sumatra Indonesia (Lonsum) has come a long way since its financial woes in the late 1990s. Now highly profitable, the listed company wants to triple its production of palm oil and quadruple its output of rubber. Nick Parsons reports.

As Asia's infrastructure needs mount, Macquarie Bank, the world's largest private owner of infrastructure assets, is well placed to capitalize. Andrew Low, head of Asia corporate finance, who is responsible for new infrastructure investments in the region, explains to Asiamoney why it is obsessed with planes, trains...and even explosives companies.

South Korea's securities business is in the doldrums, but it is preparing for the introduction of new regulations in 2008 that will shake up the entire industry. Bae Ho-Won, CEO of Samsung Securities, tells Richard Morrow about the plans of the country's largest broker.

Asian corporates are generally happy with the level of service they get from global foreign-exchange houses. But they are not convinced about all the unsolicited bells and whistles, writes Chris Wright.

Large-cap Corporate of the Year

Any company that creates infrastructure at a time when mega-projects are on the government's wish list should be a sure winner with investors. But when that company is the single largest infrastructure construction company in Thailand and one of the largest civil engineering contractors in south-east Asia, the potential should be stellar. For Italian-Thai Development (ITD), however, the past 18 months have been anything but easy. A succession of delays at the Suvarnabhumi airport (ITD forms part of the main joint-venture group along with Japanese partners Takenaka Corp and Obayashi Corp) culminated in the now caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra threatening to blacklist the company from future government projects. Although these threats came to nothing, ITD's share price came under pressure. Meanwhile, rising construction costs and high interest rates have put a further dampener on the euphoria that first met the project.

Infrastructure companies have become the darlings of Asia's pension funds and insurance companies. But the most successful names, in terms of return on equity, are heavily China focused, as revealed by ASIAMONEY's Top 10 countdown. Chris Wright reports.

In the midst of the current global resources boom, a wave of consolidation is happening in the North America mining sector. It could force M&A in Australia too, mergermarket reports.

Domestic players have distinct advantages when it comes to foreign exchange, even though their global counterparts are often far more visible. Chris Wright reports.

Petronas forks out for US$1.1 billion of Rosneft shares, Genting plans a theme park on the island of Sentosa and the government sets out its stall to bid for 880 infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, tempers fray as Malaysia Airlines gears up to offer discount fares and 2,000 workers face the axe at MT Picture Display.