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Transparency and accountability have become wordwide corporate mantras post-Enron. But Asia has seen it all before. Five years after the 1997 financial crisis, many countries and their companies have realized that good corporate governance makes good financial sense. Poll compiled by Olivia Chow and Robert Law. Report by Fiona Haddock.

Banking on Japan

The trouble with financial acquisitions is that the major assets of target institutions – the people – have two legs and will walk out if they do not like the new set-up. This happened on a big scale at Taiwan brokerage Grand Cathay, which was bought by China Development Industrial Bank some months ago. It was the latest in a wave of industry consolidation triggered by new government legislation that allows the setting up of financial holding companies.

Dr Kongkiat Opaswongkarn, veteran investment banker and collector of fine antiques is in an ebullient mood. That's because Asset Plus, the merchant bank which he founded almost 10 years ago has just raised Bt375 million (approximately US$8.7 million) on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Despite the downturn in share prices caused by widespread fears of war in Iraq and a slowdown in the US economy, shares in Asset Plus closed up by 14% on the opening day of trading, although they have since fallen back. “Given the circumstances, we are very satisfied,” he says from his plush 27th floor office offering magnificent views over Bangkok's sprawling skyline “Book building took place on August 28 when the index was 10% higher. And yet our stock continues to trade around the IPO level.”

This is Asiamoney's first corporate governance poll. Referring to the MSCI AC Asia Free ex-Japan index, we compiled a list of 197 listed companies in 10 industry groups in Asia-Pacific (we combined household and personal products, food, beverage and tobacco, retailing and media into one industry group). We picked the top 20 companies in each industry group (except banks, telecoms services and utilities – see table below). We sent two sets of questionnaires: one set was sent to research analysts at five regional brokerages, the other was sent to the heads of investor relations at each company, or alternatively, to individuals with responsibility for their company's corporate governance practices.

Has ABN Amro sacrificed HG Asia – nearly killing off the old-established Asian house – on the altar of its US investment banking strategy? Matthew Montagu-Pollock, who spoke to key brokers from the old days to present-day executives, tracks the institution's ups and downs and looks at how it is responding to the latest bear market challenge.

Cullen sails New Zealand towards new investment opportunities

Despite much wooing by banks and software providers, governments and corporates in Asia are only slowly coming to grips with the advent of e-trade. Pauline Loong reports.

After several false starts, 2001 was the year when the Australian leveraged finance market finally burst into life, seeing over A$2bn deals completed. Most market players expect this volume to continue over the next few years. The scene is set, with several conglomerates ripe for breaking up, opportunities expected for local management to buy into Australian subsidiaries of multinational companies, and an aggressive lending community whose appetite for leveraged debt is increasing all the time.

Investors used to be happy with a diet of Pfandbrief to fulfil their covered bond needs, but with the sector facing credit downgrades, the Spanish cédulas market has been attempting to convince investors that it is a realistic alternative. Spanish banks have issued a healthy Eu12bn of cédulas this year - but can it become the premier covered bond market in Europe? Neil Day reports. Spanish banks active in the cédulas hipotecarias market might be forgiven for feeling a touch of Schadenfreude towards their peers in the German Pfandbrief market.

Stalled banking sector reform has long been the biggest threat to sustainable economic growth in Russia. There is now a genuine political will to push reform forward, but a consensus on how best to achieve it is still lacking. By Kathryn Wells. Although Russia has been quick to reinvent itself as the darling of emerging market investors since its fall from grace in August 1998, reform in its banking sector has been slow to materialise. As a result, Russia has only half the penetration levels on deposit and loans to GDP of Egypt and Turkey, even though it has similar GDP per capita to these countries.

Spanish corporates have been hit hard by Argentina's problems over the past 18 months. Bond issuance has fallen, spreads have gapped out and investors have reverted to an ultra-conservative stance. However, prospects for 2003 are bright with most observers hopeful that Argentina's crisis will be resolved sooner rather than later. Neil Day reports.