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.

Summary

Market Overview and Highlights of Asia (ex-Japan, Australia and New Zealand) debt issuance in Fourth Quarter 2017

Total issuance in 4Q’17 came in at USD 84.8 billion (bn) as of December 31, up 23.6% quarter-over-quarter (qoq) from 3Q’17 (USD 79.4bn) and up 60.8% year-over-year (yoy), inclusive of high grade (HG), high yield (HY), and unrated deals. A combination of investor hunger for yield, favorable perceptions towards Emerging Markets in general and Asia in particular and finally, the fact that credit spreads in Asia, though tight relative to historical levels, remain wider than Europe and the US, have all contributed to record bond issuance out of all corners of the Asian market.

Domestic CNY Issuance

Total domestic CNY issuance stood at USD 133.4bn in the fourth quarter of 2017, down 34.5% from the third quarter (USD 203.6bn) and down 19.4% yoy (USD 165.4bn). By tenor, 47.8% of fourth quarter issuance (USD 63.8bn) would mature in five years or less, followed by the 7-10 year bucket (USD 37.6bn, or 28.2% of issuance). By sector, finance led issuance totals (USD 57.8bn), followed by construction (USD 22.2bn). For the full year, domestic CNY volumes fell 26.4% from 2016, with USD 578.2bn issued in 2017. Outstanding domestic CNY debt stood at USD 10.9tn at the end of fourth quarter 2017, with sovereigns leading totals (USD 6.2tn), followed by financials (USD 2.7tn) and industrials (USD 837.5bn).

Offshore Renminbi (CNH) Issuance

The pace of offshore issuance picked up slightly in the fourth quarter from the third quarter; an equivalent of USD 2.5bn in CNH bonds were issued, an increase of 35.2% qoq but a decline 66.5% yoy. In terms of tenor, virtually all (96.1%) all of fourth quarter issuance was accounted for by transactions with tenors of 5-years or less. HG deals rated A+ totaling USD 376.5mn had the highest share among rated deals (15.3%). In terms of sector, only finance (USD 1.2bn) and sovereign (USD 1.1bn) deals were issued in the fourth quarter.

Credits

ASIFMA

• Executive Director, Fixed Income: Vijay Chander
• Associate: Timothee Bihet

SIFMA Research

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