Asian bonds hit records, but pace to slacken

Bankers expect Asian dollar bond issuance to exceed $100 billion again this year, but the pace is expected to slacken in the second half. Last year, Asian borrowers outside Japan raised a total of $130 billion. Year-to-date, they have already raised $68 billion, which puts them on a firm footing to exceed last year’s volumes.

However, most bankers are predicting a slowdown during the second half. “I’m expecting north of $100 billion this year,” said one debt head. “I expect it will be fairly broad based, with activity from Hong Kong and China, Southeast Asia and India,” he added. “But it will be hard to maintain the momentum seen in...