ASIFMA Asia Credit Report, Third Quarter 2014

Market Overview and Highlights of Asia (ex-Japan, Australia and New Zealand) debt issuance in Third Quarter 2014

Total issuance in 3Q’14 came in at a weaker USD 39.49 billion (bn) as of September 30 bringing YTD issuance of 2014 to USD 146.88bn; issuance is below quarter-over-quarter (qoq) from 2Q’14 (USD 67.47bn) but up 67.3% year-over-year (yoy), inclusive of high grade (HG), high yield (HY), and unrated deals. Despite issuance for the rest of the year weakening, FY’14 issuance has already reached a new all-time high.

Key trends in Asia (ex-Japan, Australia and New Zealand) G3 & LCY bond issuance

For the third quarter 2014, total G3 issuance stood at USD 39.49bn, with HG transactions accounting for USD 31.53bn, HY issues accounting for a total of USD 7.13bn, and unrated issues accounting for 825 million. China remains the largest issuing country in the third quarter, accounting for a total of USD 20.17bn, or a little over half, of G3 issuance seen so far in 3Q’14, with USD 16.51bn and USD 3.55bn in HG and HY deals, respectively, priced from China alone. India replaces South Korea to be second in issuance with USD 5.86bn, followed by South Korea with USD 4.30bn in issuance.

Overall G3 debt outstanding in the region stood at USD 634.06bn, a growth of 3.7% qoq. High grade debt accounted for the bulk of total outstanding debt at USD 404.38bn (a 3.2% growth qoq), followed by HY debt at USD 145.81bn (a growth of 1.4% qoq) and NR debt at USD 83.87bn (a growth of 10.6% qoq). China (with USD 169.5bn), South Korea (with USD 119.7bn) and Hong Kong (with USD 87.9bn) were the three countries with the largest shares of G3 debt outstanding, with growth in China and Hong Kong but declines in South Korea.

About the Report

Done in partnership with ASIFMA, the Asia Credit Report is a quarterly report on the trends and statistics of the Asian bond market, including both the investment grade and high yield bond market. Additional statistics on the G3 and CNH markets are also included.

For more information on ASIFMA’s efforts in Asian fixed income, please visit ASIFMA.

Credits

ASIFMA

  • Executive Director, Fixed Income: Vijay Chander

SIFMA Research

  • Managing Director, Head of Research: Kyle Brandon
  • AVP: Sharon Sung