2026 Working Capital Benchmarking Report

Key Takeaways:

1. Working capital discipline is increasingly attracting board-level attention, as cash flow and liquidity risks build across the region.
2. Aon’s 2026 Working Capital Benchmarking Report indicates a stable average for Asia Pacific, though capital performance varies by country and by industry.
3. Paired with a strategic approach, supported by credit solutions, benchmarking can be an important lever that may help organisations identify opportunities to unlock growth.

Aon's 2026 Working Capital Benchmarking Report examines the financial performance of 3,805 publicly listed companies across 14 markets and 21 industries in Asia Pacific (APAC). The report explores days receivable — the length of time it takes a firm to collect payment after delivering goods or services — as a core measure of working capital health.

“In aggregate, the report found that the regional average has remained steady from 2024 to 2026,” says Ankit Tambe, Head of Trade Credit for Aon in Asia. “It is worth looking beyond this headline to understand performance across countries and sectors. The average for individual countries moved by as much as eight days in either direction, and several industries moved considerably more.” For finance leaders, understanding how their business measures up to peers within their country, as well as looking at the regional view for their industry, provides important insights.

Regional results from Aon’s 2025 Global Risk Management Survey (exploring how nearly 3,000 leaders in 60+ countries are tackling today’s top risks) also suggest a higher level of scrutiny for cash flow comparison is warranted. The survey found that cash flow/liquidity risk has entered the top 10 risks for organisations in Asia Pacific, signalling that working capital is receiving greater board-level attention.

Looking beyond the average across APAC

Over the past two years, India recorded the largest improvement in the region, cutting days receivable by eight days to 56. The Philippines also saw significantly better performance, down seven days to 49. Thailand and Hong Kong both recorded a rise in payment delays, deteriorating by four days (to 53) and three days (to 76) respectively. China, the country with the largest number of firms in the report, averaged 99 days, up 2 days.

Industry figures from the report show a similar degree of contrast. Engineering and construction businesses surveyed reported the largest cross-country gap in the report — 121 days between Australia (73 days) and China (194 days) — with receivables of Chinese businesses in those industries lengthening by a further 10 days over the past year, while Australia stayed roughly the same. Transportation and logistics recorded the largest single-year change. Within this sector, Thailand's days receivable rose 29 days to 84, compared with a single day increase in South Korea.

Other parts of the region show steadier improvement. Indian chemical firms reported having cut days receivable by 24 days over five years (2020-2025), while pharmaceutical companies in South Korea and India improved by three and 13 days respectively over the same five-year period. This compares with a three-day average deterioration in days receivable across pharmaceutical markets for the whole of APAC.

Turning insight into a working capital strategy

Built on public, audited financial data for companies with annual revenue above USD $500 million, the report data may help organisations to compare their performance against peers across industry and country. As well as providing companies with reported benchmarking to assess their own cash flow position, the report also outlines potential strategies that may help shorten the cash conversion cycle and release capital tied up in receivables.

Offering early payment discounts to key customers, supported by a dynamic, stepped program, may provide a practical lever for reducing payment lags where an organisation has a strong market position and established customer relationships. Credit insurance-backed receivables financing could offer another route to improving payment terms. When credit insurance is structured alongside a receivables financing program, finance managers may be better placed to discuss lender pricing, expand the pool of eligible receivables and access an additional source of funding that may help ease balance sheet pressure.

Credit solutions — spanning trade credit insurance, political risk insurance and surety — may help support organisations to grow revenue, strengthen cash flow across payables and receivables and replace bank guarantees or cash collateral with insurance and surety solutions.

Resilience starts with visibility

Organisations that understand how their working capital performance compares to peers, by market and by industry, may be better placed to identify where cashflow bottlenecks are happening and prioritise their strategies and solutions to help reduce liquidity risk. Credit solutions may help turn insights into action to help protect and support the flow of working capital in an uncertain trading and credit environment.

Get in touch with our credit solutions team to discuss how we may be able to support your working capital strategy.