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Asian local currency bonds enjoy boom times
The global credit crisis has been a good test for the burgeoning Asian local currency bond markets, and one they seem to have passed.
A decade ago, in the aftermath of Asia's own financial crisis, the Asian Development Bank started to press for the expansion of local currency bond markets, in part so companies could avoid the pitfalls of relying on overseas borrowing and bank lending that the region's crisis had shown could go disastrously wrong.
Since then, the region's corporate bond markets have been steadily growing to the point where, in aggregate, issuance in the region excluding Japan is about nine times that of such issuance in the G3 currencies of dollars, euros and yen, according to Dealogic data.
A decade ago, in the aftermath of Asia's own financial crisis, the Asian Development Bank started to press for the expansion of local currency bond markets, in part so companies could avoid the pitfalls of relying on overseas borrowing and bank lending that the region's crisis had shown could go disastrously wrong.
Since then, the region's corporate bond markets have been steadily growing to the point where, in aggregate, issuance in the region excluding Japan is about nine times that of such issuance in the G3 currencies of dollars, euros and yen, according to Dealogic data.