Best in Class Treasury – China – WINNER
Yuexiu
One of China’s leading conglomerates, Yuexiu Group, has transformed its treasury operations by implementing a corporate treasury centre (CTC) and shared treasury platform. Collaborating with Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK), Yuexiu has enhanced efficiency, visibility, and liquidity management across its extensive global operations.
Established in 1985, over the course of almost 40 years, Yuexiu Group has transformed and developed a ‘4+X’ modern business structure – meaning its business focuses on four main industries, and extends towards other industries. The four main industries are finance, real estate, transportation infrastructure, and food. The group owns hundreds of overseas subsidiaries and holds six listed companies, making its cash management complex.
Prior to the transformation, the decentralised treasury structure had resulted in inefficiencies, including manual account management and fragmented financial practices. Subsidiaries managed their accounts independently, which led to high operating costs, limited visibility of global cash positions, and challenges in reallocating resources efficiently.
Manual processes caused significant operational pain points. Account reconciliation and payment approvals were time-consuming and error prone. Payment failures resulting from incorrect data inputs were common, while delays in batch processing slowed treasury operations. Seizing the initiative, Yuexiu Group planned a complete transformation of treasury management through automation and centralisation.
Revolutionising treasury management
Yuexiu Group partnered with BOCHK to undertake this overhaul. This project’s core development is the Corporate Treasury Centre (CTC) managed by Yuexiu Enterprises (Holdings) Limited. The CTC oversees cash flow and treasury functions for more than 150-member companies worldwide. This centralised management structure is designed to manage overall cash position, streamline internal operations, enhance treasury governance, and improve operating efficiency.
The introduction of a shared treasury platform has revolutionised financial operations. Covering the entire fund life cycle, the platform enables real-time monitoring of cash flows, fund allocation, payment settlements, and investment management. By adopting an Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) connection with BOCHK, Yuexiu Group can monitor real-time transactions and queries, cut down on delays caused from traditional batch processing and enhance risk management capabilities. The enhanced digital connectivity has improved data handling accuracy while increasing treasury visibility and control.
Tangible outcomes
The benefits of Yuexiu Group’s treasury evolution have been profound. Bulk payment processing speed is now 70% faster, while manual reconciliation time has been cut by 90%. By centralising operations, the group has reduced manual errors in account reconciliation and payment processing by 80%, enhancing overall efficiency and reducing risks.
Automated sweeping enables surplus balances from group subsidiaries to be automatically swept into Yuexiu’s CTC in Hong Kong daily, supporting the group’s strategic reinvestment and driving greater liquidity management efficiency. And through its centralised management structure, Yuexiu Group now centralises more than 75% of its overseas surplus balances. This has reduced its reliance on external borrowing, the estimated yield for surplus funds has been increased to more than 3%.
In summary, Yuexiu Group’s innovative use of centralised and digitalised treasury management solutions is a worthy winner of the Best in Class Treasury – China 2025 Award. The API-enabled shared platform has enhanced operational efficiency and mitigated liquidity and FX risks effectively. What’s more, Yuexiu’s journey offers a scalable model for other multinational corporates navigating similar challenges.
