By 1974, Buenaventura had been appointed Citibank Chief Executive in Indonesia. Two years later, in 1976, he was assigned to head the bank's Malaysian operations, also as Chief Executive. He would hold this position until 1979, at which time he was given the post of Senior Vice President and Regional Treasurer in Hong Kong. There, for the next three years, he managed Citibank's treasury activities in twelve countries. In 1982, Buenaventura returned home to become the first Filipino Chief Executive Officer of Citibank Philippines, a position he would hold until the end of his tenure in 1985.