Besides raising $6.73 billion in Southeast Asia’s largest rights issue in 2021, Indonesia-based BRI has emerged as a bank leading the change in the DEI and ESG spaces.
Backed by healthy gold reserves and multilateral agencies keen to improve infrastructure, the outlook for the Central Asian republic is positive. However, the population’s tense relationship with China must be addressed if it is to make serious economic headway.
The challenges are significant when 85% of the population is unbanked and the country has no capital markets. The acting governor of Da Afghanistan Bank outlines his plans to build from the ground up, promote financial inclusion, and learn from countries like Cambodia.