Comments
Companies are optimistic about their plans despite concerns over protectionist policies and rising global crude oil prices, believes Stuart Tait, Group General Manager and Regional Head of Commercial Banking (Asia-Pacific), HSBC.
Though rising crude oil prices have had an impact on India, which is a large importer, Tait said: “Talking to customers, it doesn’t come up as a key challenge or something they are really focussed on.”
But he noted that a lot depends on their industry and, if they have a large exposure, then they have corporate policies such as hedging in place.
In an interview to BusinessLine , Tait said there are some signs that inflation may be picking up in economies around the world, and higher fuel prices would have a further impact.
“I don’t think we see it reaching a point where we see customers changing the way they do business,” he said, adding that many companies are also working to reduce their energy consumption and become more energy efficient.
Green bonds
The Hong Kong-headquartered bank is also working with many companies for green finance, and has also issued green bonds for many firms.
When asked about the increasingly protectionist stance of many countries, including the US, Tait said: “It’s very fluid.. But we also have to remember that some of the announcements being made by the governments may be an intention or a plan. We need to distinguish it from what is actually being put in place.”
Further, while in some parts of the world, protectionism may be rising, it is coming down in Asia, with ASEAN being one such example, he said.
“Firms are not getting cautious but are more willing and keen about talking to companies like ours to understand some of the protectionist issues,” he said, and added that they need to choose carefully the market they want to operate in.
Referring to a recent Trade Navigator Survey by the bank, Tait said it revealed that Indian businesses are more concerned about protectionism than the global average. “…the survey found that nine out of 10 businesses in India felt that governments are turning increasingly protectionist and that increases the cost of doing international business. This was much higher than the global average of three out of five firms,” he said.
Blockchain technology
HSBC is also working on using blockchain technology for trade finance.
“The use of blockchain makes it easier, quicker and cheaper for our customers and employees…But it will be effective if we can scale it up. Blockchain can be used in trade if many corporates, banks, customers, insurers, shippers and logistics companies are also willing to use the platform,” said Tait.
Live transaction
HSBC and ING Bank recently executed the first scalable live trade finance transaction using blockchain for Cargill.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.