Companies need to ensure treasury management business stays agile in digital era

Chinese companies should ensure their treasury management business stay agile in the digital era and offer multi-dimensional value by partnering with banks and other professional institutions, says a White Paper done by China Merchants Bank and EY.  

Treasury management, sometimes simply referred to as cash management, includes a company's collections, disbursements, concentration, investment and funding activities. In larger firms, it may also include trading in bonds, currencies, financial derivatives and the associated financial risk management.

The rapid development of technology has prompted Chinese enterprises to do business differently and this calls for relevant adaptation of their cash management, said Shi Shunhua, president of corporate banking at Shenzhen-based CMB.

To cope with the ever-changing business models and a challenging external environment, companies should become more agile in their cash management by working with external partners, the China Corporate Treasury Management White Paper 2018 said.

Banks and other professional institutions will help firms develop their money management capabilities in terms of data operation, financial resources integration, technological innovation, organizational operation and talent cultivation, according to the White Paper.

The banks will be able to contribute more to their corporate clients in areas like business operation as well as strategy direction and implementation, said Toby Zhang, partner of financial services advisory for strategy & business transformation at EY.

The White Paper is a compilation of in-depth dialogs with 20 chief financial officers from leading Chinese enterprises and covers detailed research on nearly 400 companies.