GBM: Global corporate treasury webinar

On December 9, a distinguished group of senior treasury officials from leading corporates across the Middle East, Africa and Latin America joined Global Banking & Markets for an in-depth discussion of our first-ever survey of corporate treasurers’ approach to funding, risk management and investment. 

The participants were:

Catherine Chacon Navarro, Director, Corporate Finance, Grupo Nutresa (Colombia)
Samantha Smith, Executive Head, Treasury and Funding, Vodacom (South Africa)
Tamim Omar AlShikh Khalil, Senior Treasury Manager, Ittihad International Investment (Abu Dhabi)
Parin Gokaldes, Group Treasurer, Barloworld (South Africa) 
Jonathan Segal, Treasurer, Edoman (Oman) 

The survey was carried out during October 2025 and completed by 104 treasury officials from across GBM’s global network. The full results of the survey can be found here:

Among the key findings of the survey we revealed:

• Around 70% of respondents expect their funding costs to fall over the next 12 months;
• Pricing and distribution are the two key factors when selecting lead managers for bond issues, with provision of research and ESG credentials of the lowest importance;
• The priority for most issuers is to grow their investor bases outside their domestic and regional markets, with a preference for Asia and the Middle East;
• The dollar remains the preferred currency of more than 60% of issuers
• 65% of respondents expect to use AI ‘a lot’ within three years for analysing market conditions, and 56% for cash and liquidity management, while only 21% think it will play an important role in their funding operations.

The webinar participants discussed these points, as well as their outlook for funding in 2026, with particular focus on the importance of investor relations and choosing the right lead managers and advisers for their issuance. 

The webinar concluded a series of invitation-only, in-person events for corporate treasurers in Dubai, Johannesburg and Istanbul.