What a difference a few years makes. And, if anything, it proves that memories are short. Back in 2009, Indonesian tyre-maker Gajah Tunggal was forced to restructure its bonds to avoid defaulting on a coupon payment. Yet on Friday, it made a successful return to the debt markets, closing a $500 million high-yield bond.
Its five-year bond, which is callable after three years, is one of the few this year to be sold under the Reg-S144a format, which allows it to be sold to onshore US investors. With the exception of Country Garden and Indika Energy, most of the dollar bonds this year have been primarily sold to Asian...