Asia’s G3 debt capital markets are off to a record start, raising $11.1 billion during the first two weeks of the year, while the equity markets are the quietest since 2007.
Equity capital markets
Volume in the Asian equity capital markets totalled $1.2 billion from 19 transactions this week, bringing volume for the year so far to $1.4 billion — the lowest start to the year for the region since 2007 ($562 million from 31 issues)
Sean Cunningham takes on the newly created role at the asset manager in Singapore; he was most recently head of Asia ETFs at JP Morgan Asset Management in Hong Kong.
Edmund Leong, head of Group Corporate Banking and Investment Banking at UOB, explains to FinanceAsia how Asean’s evolution into an even more dynamic end-market is enticing corporates to scale across borders – in turn driving demand for integrated financing, advisory and capital markets solutions. And those banks with regional reach and local expertise should be pivotal to the region’s next growth phase.
Capital is flowing back into Asian debt markets, but investors are becoming increasingly selective. Fitch Ratings says stronger sovereigns and their banks and corporates continue to access funding, while rising oil prices, currency pressures and external vulnerabilities are sharpening the differentiation with weaker credits.