In 2024, the corporate trust industry in Asia-Pacific ( APAC ) saw a resurgence in activity, fuelled by a significant growth in bond deals, repackaged notes, and medium-term note ( MTN ) programmes.

Favourable economic conditions and strategic funding initiatives drove the market, a stark contrast to the dearth of activity in the previous year amid the high-interest-rate environment.

Bond deals in the region rebounded strongly with total issuance reaching US$460 billion in 2024, up 20% from the previous year, according to data from the International Capital Markets Association.

US dollar bond issuances by Chinese companies jumped by 81% to US$77.1 billion, although still below the record high of US$210.5 billion in 2019, while Indian bond issuances increased by 9% to US$124.81 billion, and G3 bond issuance from South Korea grew by 19.3% to US$37.14 billion.

Sales of structured products in APAC ex-China rose by 14% to US$257.1 billion, with short-term products with less than one-year maturity accounting for 72% of the total sales, according to data from structuredretailproducts.com, an online industry newsletter.

Demand for medium-term note programmes also recovered, particularly in the Philippines, with SM Investments Corp and SM Prime Holdings establishing a US$3 billion euro medium-term note programme, the largest in the country.

Intense competition

All the major players in corporate trust – notably China Construction Bank ( CCB Asia ), Citi, Deutsche Bank, DBS, and HSBC – experienced strong growth in key markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, India, Taiwan, and Indonesia.

While the corporate trust business has always been competitive, the changing market conditions have further intensified rivalry among the service providers and resulted in enhanced differentiation in terms of capabilities, products, and services.

This can be gleaned from Corporate Trust Services Insights, the annual survey of corporate trust clients conducted by The Asset, which provides important feedback and information on the capabilities as well as the quality of products and services offered by service providers over the past year. A total of 166 clients participated in this year’s survey, more than double the 62 clients who took part in the previous year’s survey.

The survey results indicate that clients are paying greater attention to the experience, responsiveness, and ability of their corporate trustees to deal with complex issues. When choosing a corporate trust service provider, clients consider quality of execution, track record and experience, as well as transaction administration capability as the three most important factors. This is consistent with the survey results of the past year.

Positive client feedback

It is in this context that we announce the winners of Best in Corporate Trust Awards of The Asset Triple A Sustainable Investing Awards for Institutional Investor, ETF, and Asset Servicing Providers 2025.

HSBC is recognized as Best in Corporate Trust for India, Taiwan, and Singapore, for winning major mandates in a variety of industries and clients in each of these markets. HSBC also figured highly in the survey results, where it got strong positive feedback from clients based on survey results and during client calls made by The Asset.

CCB Asia wins as Best in Corporate Trust in Hong Kong, where it continued its strong track record in servicing its traditional client base. The bank also received positive feedback from clients based on the survey results and client calls.

Citi grabs the award for Best in Corporate Trust in South Korea in recognition of its work with institutional clients, particularly in the area of asset-backed securitization.

Deutsche Bank is honoured as Best in Corporate Trust in Australia for its outstanding work in servicing clients, particularly in the real estate sector.

DBS is recognized as Best in Corporate Trust in Indonesia for excellence in servicing clients in the renewable energy space.

For a complete list of winners, please click here.

Interested to learn more about these awards please go here.

Want to join the upcoming awards gala on June 19, 2025? Please contact us at celebrate@theasset.com