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 Second Quarter 2017

Total issuance in 2Q’17 came in at USD 79.2 billion (bn) as of June 30, down 5.2% quarter-over-quarter (qoq) from 1Q’17 (USD 83.5bn) and up 33.4% year-over-year (yoy), inclusive of high grade (HG), high yield (HY), and unrated deals. Year to date, total issuance is USD 162.7bn, up 72.1% from the first half of 2016. A broad mix of HY issuance (particularly out of China), pre-funding to meet across-the board refinancing requirements and the strong growth of a new asset class – perpetuals (particularly of the non-financial variety) have all combined to keep Asian G3 bond issuance buoyant.

Domestic CNY Issuance

Total domestic CNY issuance stood at USD 123.7bn in the second quarter of 2017, up 24.4% from the first quarter (USD 99.5bn) but a decline of 27.0% yoy (USD 169.5bn). By tenor, 66.4% of second quarter issuance (USD 82.2bn) would mature in five years or less, followed by the 7 – 10 year bucket (USD 24.0bn, or 19.4% of issuance). By sector, finance led issuance totals (USD 47.8bn), followed by construction (USD 18.8bn). Despite the slight uptick in second quarter volume relative to first quarter, domestic CNY volumes remain well below in average volumes from prior quarters: for the first half of 2017, volumes totaled USD 123.7bn, down 44.6% compared to the the first half of 2016.

Offshore Renminbi (CNH) Issuance

The pace of offshore issuance picked up slightly in the second quarter but overall remain depressed compared to prior quarters; an equivalent of USD 2.4bn in CNH bonds were issued, an increase of 14.7% qoq but a decline of 68.8% yoy. In terms of tenor, 97.8% all of second quarter issuance was accounted for by transactions with tenors of 5-years or less, with approximately a fifth of overall volume from short-term paper (USD 450mn). HG deals rated A totaling USD 435.4mn had the highest share among rated deals (18.5%). In terms of sector, only sovereigns (USD 1.0bn), finance (USD 899.3mn) and auto (USD 435.4mn) deals were issued in the second quarter.

Credits

ASIFMA

• Executive Director, Fixed Income: Vijay Chander

SIFMA Research

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