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CHRIS CUFFE ROW MARS COMMONWEALTH IMAGE

After six years in office, reserve bank governor Ian Macfarlane continues to prove to Australians that their economy is in capable hands.Fiona Haddock spoke to him in Sydney.

ANZ leads the country's banks back into favour in the Australia category of Asiamoney's best-managed companies poll. Wesfarmers and Woolworths make up the top three. Chris Wright reports.

A chapter by ANZ Investment Bank

At the age of 50, Phirasilp Subhapholsiri, president of BankThai Public Company, is far from thinking about an easier life. “We have steered the bank through the difficult times and we can now focus on the next stage of this adventure,” he says. “Before, I likened myself to a surgeon in an emergency room. Now I feel more like a chef mixing all the ingredients to make one of the exotic dishes for which Thailand is so famous.” Phirasilp has never been one to shrink from a challenge. He believes it is his fate to have a professional life which is an uphill toil, fraught with adversity.

A chapter by Gilbert + Tobin

The committee charged with reviewing the three-tier structure of Hong Kong's regulatory system is due to report this month. Its findings will have a significant impact on the city's viability as an international financial centre, reports Louis Beckerling.

Do international flows of funds have any foundation in statistics? Yes, says Raymond Blondin at FinAsia whose analysis of companies across Asia shows that the average return on assets is higher in the countries where the funds are flowing to Thailand and China. And if you've been investing in the Philippines, you may be in trouble. But you probably knew that already. Story by Chris Wright.

China fever still high

Paul Keating, unofficial Australian ambassador to Asia, may have been out of office down under for some time, but he still has strong opinions about how his country is being, and should be, run.

The chairmanship of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is up for grabs following Allan Fel's announcement of his early retirement. Fiona Haddock spoke to him at his Canberra office.

Everything about the Three Gorges Dam project is controversial, from the scale to the social and environmental displacement. The numbers are too – and in a forthcoming IPO the dam's operators will try to raise unprecedented volumes of equity. Chris Wright reports.