Tracking the path of Thailand's tiger economy

Thailand is in many ways typical of bond markets across the ASEAN region. Its corporate bond market, though growing quickly, is still a fraction of government bond volumes. Secondary liquidity is still a problem. Cross-border participation is still a huge opportunity. But in other ways, Thailand stands out from the crowd. The willingness of investors to accept lower-rated credits in the country is one thing that issuers in many other Southeast Asian markets can only dream of – and the relatively small foreign holdings of government bonds provides an interesting data point for a region that is still struggling to find the right balance when it comes to foreign inflows. ASIAMONEY talks to a variety of senior market participants to find out what Thailand can learn from its neighbours, and what lessons it can offer them.