Treasury priorities for 2025

The first HSBC Treasury Hangout of 2025 was held in Dubai in early February. The attendees continued the discussion that was had in 2024, specifically discussing the pain points that had been raised over the course of the year to see if they had improved. The attendees also examined the outlook for 2025, especially in terms of treasury transformation projects, the adoption of real time payments (RTP), and the potential for AI to enhance treasury operations.

What was striking was that the issues that were top of mind in 2024 - including liquidity issues in markets such as Egypt, or regulatory hurdles on repatriating cash from other markets – had improved significantly, even if they have not been completely solved. However these have been overlaid with new concerns around macro and financial volatility, and geopolitics.

The session adhered to Chatham House Rules, ensuring open dialogue without attribution.¹

Changes in Focus Since 2024

To begin the discussion we revisited some of the concerns from six months ago, specifically asking the attendees how things might have changed in three of the most important economies in the region - Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Regional Liquidity and Economic Stability

Egypt: The discussions highlighted that liquidity issues have improved rapidly in Egypt, especially due to the sizeable investments from the UAE into Egypt, which have stabilised exchange rates. However, structural concerns remain, including some attendees reporting making salary payments in dollars to counter inflation. "A year ago, volatility was one-directional—every month, the exchange rate dropped, and the economy suffered. Now, the FX rate is much more stable, but there’s still a long way to go."

Turkey: Turkey’s persistent economic challenges were noted, with inflation exceeding 50% and ongoing concerns about market volatility. However, the participants cited cautious optimism that the country had turned a corner. "Turkey is a big market, but the economy is still a concern. Inflation is at 50%, and while the market has huge potential, there’s also intense competition and uncertainty."

Saudi Arabia: The key challenges of repatriating cash from the country due to taxation and regulatory complexities remain for treasurers operating in Saudi Arabia. While investment opportunities are significant, businesses must still navigate structural hurdles and compliance requirements, such as the physical signing of cheques by Saudi nationals. "Getting money out of Saudi Arabia remains a challenge due to taxation and regulatory constraints. Sometimes, it’s more efficient to leave the funds there and reinvest locally."

2025 Treasury Management Challenges and Strategies

The discussion then moved onto the evergreen issues with which treasurers have been grappling for many years: liquidity, investment, operations, and regulations. While these challenges remain, new solutions are presenting themselves, both technological and regulatory, and it is these solutions that are at the top of the agenda for regional treasurers.

We asked the participants what their key priorities are for 2025. The survey results indicated the following:

Cash Flow and Liquidity Management: Managing liquidity across different regions remains a primary concern, especially when it comes to repatriating funds from specific markets due to regulatory restrictions. The attendees discussed a range of strategies to help with this challenge, including better forecasting tools, increased use of netting arrangements and hedging instruments, and centralisation of treasury operations to enhance efficiency.

Investment Strategies: The attendees noted that their companies are carefully balancing regional investment plans to capture the opportunities of macroeconomic growth with managing the risks associated with economic volatility and regional regulations. There is a growing focus on aligning investment strategies with geopolitical realities and macroeconomic trends.

Operational Efficiencies: Automation and technological adoption are seen as crucial in optimising treasury functions in the region, enhancing cash flow visibility and reducing manual processes. Many of the attendees reported that they are actively exploring API integrations, real-time data access, and AI-driven analytics to improve decision-making and operational agility.

Regulatory Compliance and Taxation: Navigating the tax landscape in different markets across the Middle East presents ongoing challenges. Participants discussed ways to structure their treasury functions to optimise tax efficiency while ensuring compliance with evolving regulations.

Further, the ongoing transformation of the treasury function itself is continuing. The attendees discussed how they were getting closer to being at the table when strategic growth initiatives were being discussed. Not least this is because the introduction of new, digital business lines, such as B2C, require a seamless treasury backbone in order to function. "Treasury used to be reactive—now, it's becoming more proactive, shaping business strategy rather than just responding to it."

Technology and Treasury Transformation

As treasury transformation and the adoption of new technologies are the top priorities for treasurers in the region, we delved into the specifics of the technologies that they are looking to adopt in 2025. "Selling automation internally is like convincing someone to switch from a manual to an automatic car—both get you from A to B, but once you experience the ease of automation, you never want to go back."

Automation and AI: Treasury teams are increasingly leveraging AI-driven forecasting, and automation to streamline processes and improve decision-making. To better understand the challenges in volved in adopting the use of AI in Middle East treasury, we asked the attendees what were the key obstacles to adopting automation and AI in treasury.

ISO 20022 Migration: Participants discussed preparations for the transition to ISO 20022 messaging standards, which will be going live in November 2025. The attendees reported varying degrees of readiness and understanding of the benefits that will come from increased data capture in the new messaging standard.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Treasury Management Systems (TMS): Companies are continuing the process of integrating ERP systems with TMS solutions (e.g., Kyriba) to centralise treasury operations and then link these via bank systems such as HSBC’s suite of APIs, to allow them to fully reap the benefits of digital transformation of their treasury systems. It is an ongoing process. "For high-growth companies, getting the structure right from the beginning is critical. If you embed efficiency early, scaling becomes seamless—but you have to take the pain upfront."

The Journey Towards Real Time Payments (RTP) in the Middle East

RTP is expected to enhance efficiency, particularly in contractor payments and supplier transactions. However, challenges remain in ensuring instant payments across the different jurisdictions in the region due to regulatory bottlenecks. We asked the participants where they were on their journey towards full adoption of real time payment (RTP) processes. The survey results indicated the following:

The Outlook for 2025

We asked the participants what were the most significant challenges they were facing for the rest of 2025. The survey results indicated the following:

Geopolitical and Financial Risks: Businesses are prioritising risk mitigation strategies, including diversification of banking relationships, improved cash flow management, and scenario planning for potential economic disruptions.

Focus on Digital Transformation: Upcoming treasury initiatives will centre on AI-driven analytics, automation, and enhanced treasury control systems. Organisations are also looking at further streamlining their ERP integrations to create a more unified approach to cash and liquidity management.

Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: Attendees emphasised the value of peer discussions in navigating evolving treasury challenges and optimising best practices. Future strategy will involve engaging with financial institutions and technology providers to better leverage digital advancements.

Sustainability and ESG Considerations: Companies are increasingly considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in their treasury strategies. Sustainable finance, green bonds, and ethical investment strategies are expected to gain traction in treasury decision-making.

Conclusion and Next Steps

The overall discussion revealed that issues that took up a lot of bandwidth in 2024 such as such as liquidity management in individual countries around the region had improved. However an increased overlay of macro, financial and geopolitical risks is now top of mind.

Meanwhile the journey to digital transformation of the treasury function continues at pace and the adoption of new technology is a top priority for 2025. However full adoption still faces hurdles from budget constraints and the need for proof points from new systems and technologies such as RTP, automation and AI.

The Treasury Hangout series will continue in the coming months with future sessions focusing on treasury centralisation, and digital transformation and AI.