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When ABP Investments, the world's second-largest pension fund, decided in mid-2003 to triple its exposure to Asian equities to US$7.5 billion, it had to tread lightly. "We were taking from a liquidity point of view, a pretty important chunk of daily volumes," says Jan Straatman, ABP's chief investment officer, capital markets. But a "very sophisticated" internal trading desk and use of a wide network of brokers spread the impact, so the effect on prices was minimal, he says.

Message from Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president of Republic of Indonesia.

Corporate treasurers face more currency-related risks than ever before. The burden of new and complex accounting requirements, combined with exposure to a growing number of currencies as companies globalize further, mean the need for tailor-made FX advice has never been greater. The banks that want a share of this market need to sit up and listen, reports Andrew Crooke.

Located right in the heart of Jakarta's business district stands Grand Hyatt Jakarta, one of the city's most luxurious hotel. A 26-story hotel featuring 428 newly refurbished guest rooms and suites, it is equipped with 2Mbps bandwidth Broadband Internet Access. The rooms are designed and decorated with clean simple lines, and with business travellers' needs in mind. The hotel is attached to the most comprehensive and sophisticated shopping centre, Plaza Indonesia and EX entertainment centre.

When South Korea and Taiwan joined it in 1989, the fledgling Morgan Stanley Capital International emerging markets index was regarded as a ground-breaking instrument that allowed foreign institutional investors to channel funds to smaller markets that were trying to make the transition from backwaters to thriving economies. Sixteen years later, an intense debate is raging over whether MSCI's classifications should change to reflect the economic progress made by Taiwan and South Korea. Market participants and the Korea and Taiwan governments have lobbied MSCI and FTSE for an upgrade, so far unsuccessfully, to developed-market status, arguing that their share markets have grown up and the climate for foreign investors is vastly improved. "It's a tremendously hot topic," concedes Deborah Yang, vice-president at MSCI in Hong Kong. "There are benefits to an emerging market country to being promoted." The promotion of an emerging market to developed-market status could trigger a huge inflow of funds to South Korea's and Taiwan's markets because it would allow a much broader universe of investors to access those markets. Some pension funds in the United States, Europe and elsewhere are currently banned from investing in emerging markets. MSCI is the market leader, especially in the U.S., where it argues that 93% of equity funds are benchmarked to its indices, and Yang says US$1 trillion of passive institutional funds is benchmarked to MSCI Indices globally.

Asiamoney's largest-ever FX poll shows that HSBC's focus on serving its customers' currency needs with good advice and innovative products makes it the bank of choice for corporates, as well as propelling it in the minds of financial institutions.

How would you appraise President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's (SBY) performance since he came to power in October and what are the key risks that face the country over the next two to three years?

Huge growth in the aviation industry is generating a new wave of airport privatization, with more than US$10 billion of assets for sale in India, China and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region. Giles Parkinson looks at what's for sale and who's buying.

Investment banks have been assiduously demonstrating what fun-filled places they are to the latest batch of Chinese summer interns, hopeful that some will grow up to become the next generation of high-flying bankers or corporate clients. But the ways in which the banks have gone about enticing these young bright things say a great deal abou the institutions themselves.

International investors are positive about President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration's first year in power: the stock market has hit an all-time high and foreign direct investment is returning. But the government can ill afford to be complacent as investors see many new challenges ahead. Asiamoney spoke with four high-profile investors into Indonesia to gauge the extent of the challenges ahead, and the opportunities to make money.

How appealing is China for global investors?