Bronze Sponsor: Confirmed Speakers:

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Bronze Sponsor: Confirmed Speakers:"

Derrick Carr
5 years ago
Views:

Bronze Sponsor: The Inaugural Asia Corporate Treasury and CFO Summit Strategies for excellence in cash, treasury, and risk management in Asia 9 October 2012, Hong Kong The Inaugural Corporate

1 Bronze Sponsor: The Inaugural Asia Corporate Treasury and CFO Summit Strategies for excellence in cash, treasury, and risk management in Asia 9 October 2012, Hong Kong The Inaugural Corporate Treasury & CFO Summit Asia brings CFOs and treasurers together from around the region for the first time, to discuss how best to protect your business from the risks of illiquidity, exchange movements and counterparties going out of business. At the same time these seasoned financiers will address streamlining cash and trade flows and retaining and growing cash balances in an increasingly uncertain environment. Essential learning for CFOs and Treasurers who see themselves as guardians of the balance sheet and champions of future growth. Confirmed Speakers: Joseph Mani, Chief Financial Officer, Ador Welding Ltd Willy Chow, Director & Chief Financial Officer, Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) Vivek Kumar Goyal, Chief Financial Officer, Ballapur Industries Harjeet Kholi, Chief Financial Officer, Bharti Enterprises Francis Ho, Director-Group Treasury, CLP Holdings Ltd Vohra Umang, Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd Ken Low, Chief Financial Officer, GCI Group Blaik Wilson. Solutions Consultant Manager, Asia Pacific, Reval Elaine Wu, Chief Financial Officer, SEYI Machinery Matthew O'Kane, Chief Financial Officer, SouthGobi Resources Ltd Santosh Paul, Advocate, Supreme Court of India N Dwarakanath, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer, Universal Power Transformer Michael Andree Thomssen, Chief Financial Officer, MCIS Zurich Insurance Conference Agenda Tuesday 9 th October :00 Breakfast and Registration 08:50 Welcome Remarks

2 09:00 Keynote panel: Macro events impacting CFOs and Treasurers in 2013 In the US, the Bush tax cuts are set to expire at the start of This, combined with the onset of budget cuts agreed last year between the Democrats and Republicans, could finish off the country s tepid growth. Europe meanwhile is burnishing its 11th-hour credentials with a stand-off between the ECB and the Bundestag over austerity versus more funding for the EFSF, and issuing Eurobonds to help plug the hole in member states balance sheets. At the same time, in Asia, GOI has reverted to business as usual with a volte-face over MNCs in the retail space followed swiftly by a spectacular own-goal over tax on the sale by international entities of their India-domiciled holdings. Meanwhile China s government walks the tightrope between a property bubble, and damaging growth by mopping up liquidity and setting interest rates too high: Here we consider what all this means for treasurers and CFOs: What do these developments mean for global trade? Where will currencies head in 2013 and which governments are likely to restrict capital flows? Which industries and sectors will see sustained demand, and which need to tighten their belts? Will Asia s banks have the desire and the ability to plug the funding gap left by the exit of the Europeans and Americans? Can Asia s bond markets graduate beyond Sovereigns quickly enough to allow Asian companies to pounce on their stricken global counterparts? 09:45 Panel discussion: Managing and investing cash Asia s corporates are cash-rich. That creates security and opportunity, but it creates challenges too: Where should treasurers park this cash to ensure it is available when needed, and how to neutralise FX and inflation risks? What instruments are treasurers using: fixed-term deposits, money-market funds, longer-term instruments and which work best under which circumstances? Should treasurers be acting as investors? When do equity and debt buy-backs make sense, and why don t Asian corporates return surplus cash to investors? How should companies be thinking about making strategic acquisitions from their war-chests? Joseph Mani, Chief Financial Officer, Ador Welding Ltd 10:30 COFFEE BREAK 11:00 Plenary address: Counter-party risk Like money in the bank and Safe as houses. Two phrases wiped from the lexicon since Lehman collapsed in September 2008: With the exposure of particularly European banks to the sovereign debts of teetering Greece, and soon-to-be-teetering Spain and Italy, can treasurers across Asia afford to be sanguine about the strength of their bank partners? How can treasurers measure the risk of their relationship banks running out of liquidity? Should companies in Asia be diversifying their banking relationships? What level of due diligence should companies be doing on their customers and suppliers? Where should CFOs be looking to fill in the gaps in this DD? How should companies be structuring their contracts and trading relationships to limit counterparty risk? 11:30 Panel discussion: Funding Funding for companies across the world is being pinched by choppiness on the public markets (if Graff can t get an IPO away, who can?) and banks responses to Basel III rules which treat trade finance as risky business despite its sub-1% default rate. Be that as it may, funding in Asia is also bifurcated: At the blue-chip end of the spectrum loans have been cheaper and quicker to access than the bond markets. At the SME end however credit can be hard to come by if public markets aren t an option. Here the money men from some of Asia s most prestigious companies talk through their strategies: How can treasurers use their own cash balances as leverage to secure loans? Which of Asia s banks are stepping into the void left by the global banks, and on what terms?

3 Are Asian bourses mature and liquid enough to sustain secondary equity offerings? How controversial are rights issues and dilution for investors in Asian companies? When is it worth considering private equity or mezzanine financing, and on what terms? Choppy markets make investors nervous, but they still want equity exposure: How can companies bypass the public markets to sell directly to institutions and HNWIs? Francis Ho, Director-Group Treasury, CLP Holdings Ltd Ken Low, Chief Financial Officer, GCI Group Willy Chow, Director & Chief Financial Officer, Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) 12:15 Panel Discussion: Centralisation and Maximising Cash-flow Management Increasingly, global trade, business growth and frequent regulatory changes are universal challenges for Asia s treasurers. The cash cycle is one of the key metrics for anyone managing a company in financial distress. Addressing it early is a good way to avoid getting in distress in the first place. Here panellists tackle how to do that practically in today s operating environment: How do the region s most successful companies think about, track, and manage working capital? How does a centralised collections and treasury function deliver value to the business, and what are the main differences between MNCs and Asian corporations? Where and how does vendor financing work, and how can it be used to lock in your suppliers at a cost to your competition? How to evaluate the time/cost implications of employing Invoice discounting or factoring? What are the reputational risks? Can credit terms and early-settlement discounts impact customer behaviour? And can you push these onto your suppliers? How has the availability of export-credit guarantee financing been affected over the past three years, and how important is it to trading with overseas customers? Speakers: N Dwarakanath, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer, Universal Power Transformer 13:00 Networking Lunch 14:00 Panel discussion: Managing cross-border trade, FX, and payments in-country and around the world As more end-users move away from cash and cheque payment to online transactions, it makes sense for companies to keep up. Benefits including speed, security and flexibility are all factors, but not all transaction-management systems are created equal. Nevertheless, the movements in un-pegged regional and world currencies have more than made up for this small benefit, with currency controls and especially changing control policies really adding to the challenge: What are the international standards with which transaction management platforms need to comply? How closely integrated with your bank s systems should your in-house systems be? What are the natural hedges for currency movements from the Aussie dollar to the Chinese yuan? How are companies using multi-currency pooling and notional pooling to deliver better returns on deposits and negotiate better banking terms? What security measures become essential with closer financial integration to the outside world, such as the risk of the Euro break-up and the difference between the CNY and CNH, and how can treasurers ensure their controls are rigorous and robust? What platforms are companies employing for consumer collections, and how are the most successful integrating these into their middle and back-office operations? Vohra Umang, Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd

4 14:45 Panel discussion: Corporate governance as a competitive advantage Besides being a great PR story, strong corporate governance is good for business just ask Enron, Lehman Brothers, and most recently JP Morgan s Bruno Iksil, aka The London Whale. Whether it s controlling where the cash goes, or ensuring that deals are done above the table and not under it, businesses and especially their reputations stand to benefit. Here panellists share war stories and lay out best practice: What are the key anti money-laundering protections which businesses across Asia should have in place? Following recent high-profile cases in the US and elsewhere, should Asian CFOs fear being held to account for their underlings doings and how can they protect themselves? How do the US FCPA and the UK Bribery Act affect companies across Asia, what checks and balances need to be in place and what constitutes reasonable use of client entertainment, etc. How can companies across Asia inculcate a responsible attitude in their staff? How useful are whistleblowers, and how to encourage internal reporting before an external problem develops? 15:30 COFFEE BREAK 16:00 Plenary address: Transfer pricing and tax A crucial consideration for those running international businesses is how to account for the profits of each part whilst recognizing the centre s contribution, and keeping cash available for immediate deployment. In a number of countries, withholding taxes and capital controls complicate the picture. Here a leading authority reveals the black, white and grey areas, discussing the absolute limits and legitimate strategies for managing tax exposure whilst staying on the right side of the law. 16:30 Panel discussion: Corporate Treasury Best Practices Faced with volatile markets and economic uncertainty, Asia s middle-market companies are keen to discover and adopt global best practices. Meanwhile, given the diversity of financial systems and jurisdictions across Asia, there is seldom a one-size-fits-all solution, and MNCs can learn from their regional partners and competitors how to tackle specific issues. This group of panellists draw the threads together to define a road-map for your treasury function into 2013 and beyond. What are the key areas for CFOs and treasurers to focus on, and which are the priorities? To what degree is it possible to apply one set of rules and policies across the region? Who can help you define current practices and policies and benchmark against your peers? How to get buy-in from internal stakeholders and management? Blaik Wilson. Solutions Consultant Manager, Asia Pacific, Reval 17:30 Cocktail and Networking Contact our project team to find out how you can benefit from attending, speaking at or sponsoring the Inaugural Asia Corporate Treasury & CFO Summit: To speak, please contact: Kim Larsen, Conference Producer, kim.larsen@haymarket.asia, To sponsor, please contact: Emma Donald, Conference Sponsorship Manager, emma.donald@haymarket.asia, For registration and group booking, please contact: Gynn Lim, Audience Development Manager, gynn.lim@financeasia.com,

5 To become a media partner or supporting organization, please contact: Annie Ng, Marketing Manager, annie.ng@financeasia.com, Supporting Organisation: Media Partners:

rescue Before the onset of the financial Treasury to the

rescue Before the onset of the financial Treasury to the Treasury to the rescue While a degree of order has been restored to the financial world, many company treasurers remain cautious in managing cash and risk, reports Ng I-ching Illustrations by Emilio Rivera