The 81 high yield bond issuances completed in the Asia Pacific excluding Japan region made last year the busiest on record. However, Evan Thorpe of Dealogic says taking China out of the equation shows that overall market activity ranged at around the same level seen since a decade ago.

The awareness of Asian brands elsewhere in the world, and even within Asia, is low. The participants of our roundtable in Hong Kong discuss how they build and protect their brands in a region where, as one of them puts it, any two countries have as much in common as the Czech Republic has with Mexico. Chaired by Stefanie Eschenbacher.

The awareness of Asian brands elsewhere in the world, and even within Asia, is low. The participants of our roundtable in Hong Kong discuss how they build and protect their brands in a region where, as one of them puts it, any two countries have as much in common as the Czech Republic has with Mexico. Chaired by Stefanie Eschenbacher.

There is a new generation of activist investors emerging. Kenneth J. Heinz of Hedge Fund Research says they are watching Japan and are eager become involved as advocates of shareholders and market efficiency alike.

The growth of fund investing will be boosted further by recent regional moves toward cross-border fund agreements. Qiumei Yang of ICI Global says this is a promising development that could pull together the region’s disparate markets.