The KPO (knowledge process outsourcing) sector has been busy lately, responding to clients’ demands for faster access to the research they require to meet today’s rapidly changing demands. Machine learning has helped analysts achieve what otherwise would have been an impossible feat in gleaning the needed knowledge from vast volumes of data.

The rise of innovations such as decentralised finance, super apps, and the metaverse have provoked a raft of new ideas about how the industry can be reimagined. But as banking and financial services prepare to harness these new paradigms, it can be easy for the industry to lose sight of the basic requirements that customers have come to rely upon.

Not long ago, financial institutions prioritized financial risks, with ESG risks low on their lists of concerns. That is no longer the case. Today, FIs must proactively incorporate the rapidly changing ESG landscape into their operations and strategies. What practical steps will ensure that their businesses are equipped for the future?

The last few years have seen the US approve increasingly punitive legislation against Huawei, much of which has been based on perceiving the Chinese telecom giant as a national-security risk. But have the bans been effective? Have they influenced US-China relations? And has the US suffered more than China in the race to 5G supremacy?