Nagging questions over the outlook for US monetary policy and worries related to the Chinese property market and economy mean debt investors positioning themselves for 2014 should consider shorter-term Asian bonds, which still offer more flexibility and certainty on yield.
Since the global sell-off in bonds seen over the summer, when talk of imminent US policy tapering was rife, there has been a rush of new Asian debt issuance as companies looked to complete financing programmes before Christmas. The volume of US-dollar denominated debt hit another record in 2013.
Chinese issuers alone have increased their issuance of US dollar-denominated debt by roughly 75% year-on-year, in...