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SINGAPORE: Data on financial transactions in Asia are pointing to a wider recovery in the region, according to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT).
Financial transactions including those for payments and securities are starting to pick up in Asia as the global economy shows early signs of a recovery.
Observers said Asia Pacific economies registered payment growth of 2.3 per cent in July on-year and saw four straight months of improvement in cross-border transactions, compared to a decline of 3.2 per cent in July for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and a 4.4 per cent decline in America.
And while growth may be booming in Asia, experts at SWIFT said it is Singapore which is ahead of the mark when it comes to payment transactions and trade-related transactions.
Franck De Praetere, regional head, SWIFT, said: "What we see in Singapore is quite interesting because from a SWIFT point of view, we see the traffic recovering pretty well from 2008 and this is a good proxy of how the local economy is recovering.
"To give an example, payments messages are growing faster in Singapore than they are in the rest of the world. Specifically in Asia Pacific, we do see a positive trend in messages as well."
SWIFT said this is significant as increases in such traffic traditionally take place in tandem with an economic recovery.
Cross-border transactions are also picking up between certain countries and groupings in the region. For example, payments between China and Japan increased by 10 per cent in July.
Charles Legrand, head of South Asia, SWIFT, said: "The trends are positive. There are certain pockets within Asia, intra-traffic between certain countries, Southeast Asia, ASEAN countries, (where there is) a lot more trade going with them.
"Securities traffic had taken a downturn but is recovering, and payments traffic is recovering. But it is showing quite a lot of positive and healthy growth, so towards the end of the year, specifically Asia and Asia Pacific will continue to grow."
And this trend is expected to continue for the rest of the year.
SWIFT is a cooperative society which operates a global network that allows the exchange of financial information or messages between banks and financial institutions. Over 8,300 banking organisations, securities institutions and corporate customers in more than 208 countries use SWIFT on a daily basis.
SWIFT will be hosting one of the world's most premier financial service events, Sibos, in Hong Kong in September this year.
- CNA/yt
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