Southeast Asia’s capital markets are buzzing, making them hot favourites with global investors. But be warned: some big obstacles are expected in the months ahead, testing the ability of issuers and investment banks to get deals over the line.

Indonesia was recently re-ranked by the World Bank as an upper middle-income country, even though as many as 100 million Indonesians remain unbanked. Andi Taufan Garuda Putra tells Asiamoney how his Amartha microlending platform is bringing them into the financial system.

The abrupt departure of the US NGO fund from military-run Myanmar leaves a vacuum for microfinanciers.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s latest policy splash is the $8.8 billion Maharlika Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth vehicle that aims to boost growth and inward investment. But it has drawn criticism, even within Marcos’s family. Many highlight the cautionary tale of Malaysia’s 1MDB, and fret about the capacity for corruption and poor governance.

Singapore’s new digital bank Trust has put rivals on notice and pushed some to focus more intensely on innovation. But its long-term success will depend on many things – not least CEO Dwaipayan Sadhu’s ability to retain clients.

Greg Krasnov, a banker from war-torn Ukraine, is shaking up finance in the Philippines with the assistance of his digital neobank.

Issuance has barely stopped in Indonesia’s IPO market this year. Global investors have bought into the resource-led story with glee – and there are plenty of deals in the pipeline.

Indonesia is one of the world’s brighter prospects right now: growth, demographics, infrastructure momentum, inflation under control, more equity raised in the first quarter in Jakarta than New York. Banks are positioning to benefit – while keeping an eye on next year’s elections.

From the Asian financial meltdown of the late 1990s to the recent pandemic, Thailand central bank governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput’s career has been bookended by crises. Now almost three years into his term as governor, he may well be the right man to keep Thailand safe from another calamity – runaway inflation.

The Philippines has the potential to become a regional wealth management hub. The race is on among global and local private banks to attract – and keep - the country’s newly wealthy.

From 1990s economic superstar to jail and now finally to the top job, Malaysia’s prime minister has had an extraordinary political journey. Now that Anwar Ibrahim is finally the boss, can he fix Malaysia’s many problems?

TMB Bank boss Piti Tantakasem gamed out everything in his careful pursuit of Thailand’s Thanachart Bank. Then came Covid to help him bed down the deal.

Vietnam’s latest digital bank Cake is the talk of the town and has attracted more than 1.5 million customers in just over a year. Now, its chief executive wants to challenge banks in southeast Asia.

UOB’s penchant for acquisitions to expand its Asean franchise is paying off handsomely in Thailand, where the bank is preparing for an even bigger boom to its business.

After more than a decade of working to achieve big things in Malaysia, Hong Leong Bank is increasingly thinking small as it steers its business towards supporting startups.

The Malaysian bank has a new CEO in Cambodia who plans to make the most of the lender’s regional scale and savvy to spot opportunities in an overbanked market.

What does a new government hold for the Philippine economy and its banks? There are plenty of concerns – mingled with some optimism that the president may help steady the ship.

Banks and bond investors are waking up to the difficulty of recovering their money from Indonesian companies that have been hit by the pandemic. Here’s what creditors need to know.