G3 bond markets open to the right name

Torrid market conditions have left the Asian debt markets deathly quiet. There has not been any Asian dollar bond issuance since Ballarpur Industries priced a $200 million perpetual on August 4.

The iTraxx Asia Investment Grade Index has widened sharply since then, hitting 161bp last Friday, but had tightened back to 137bp139bp by yesterday morning. ”We are seeing some stability in the market and there could be a window to print a deal but, quite frankly, a borrower would have to compensate investors for the risk,” said one debt syndicate banker yesterday. “In the US, we’ve seen blue-chip borrowers pay new-issue premiums of 30bp to clear a...