Busy start to 2016 for Asian bond markets

Asian bond markets are having a busy start to the year, with Ping An Insurance Group among the chief protagonists as the Chinese insurance giant prepares to make its US dollar bond debut.

At least four companies in the region have announced fundraising plans since the Federal Reserve put an end to the era of near-zero dollar borrowing costs on December 16 by raising US interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. 

Ping An Life, the life insurance arm of China’s second-largest insurance group by premiums, has hired HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and CICC to work on its...