Driving Growth and Co-operation in ASEAN

An Executive Interview with Vikas Arora, Head of Trade Finance and Cash Management for Corporates, ASEAN, Deutsche Bank

In this month’s Executive Interview, we feature Vikas Arora, newly appointed as Deutsche Bank’s Head of Trade Finance and Cash Management for Corporates, ASEAN. Vikas joined the Bank in 1994 and has held a variety of positions at Deutsche Bank, most recently Regional Head of Trade Finance for Financial Institutions – Asia Pacific. In this interview, Helen Sanders, Editor, talks with Vikas about his new role and Deutsche Bank’s commitment to the ASEAN markets.

What led Deutsche Bank to create your new role, and what excites you about it?

When people think of Asia, they typically think first of the economic powerhouses of China and India. Less is said about the enormous growth potential of ASEAN. With a population of more than 600 million, stable growth above 5% over the past few years and flourishing intra-regional trade, ASEAN offers considerable, and in many cases untapped, opportunities for corporations across a wide range of industries. As a result of this strong growth so far, and the scale of the opportunity, ASEAN is a major focus region for Deutsche Bank, and we are investing heavily in deepening our franchise and expanding the breadth of our footprint. We have a long-standing presence in six ASEAN countries, with a focus on servicing the evolving cash management and trade finance needs of both foreign and large local corporations, within the wider spectrum of the bank’s activities.

From a personal point of view, having built a successful financial institution business in Asia, it was an exciting opportunity to drive our corporate business forward in this region. In particular, the diversity of both foreign and large local corporates and the ability to build the Deutsche Bank franchise both in-country and regionally are compelling propositios. Our strong cash management and trade finance for corporates service offering is pivotal to our customer relationships, and the right solutions and services are key drivers for our customers’ success.

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