Asia Pacific

Offshore renminbi bond market opened the year with a rare floating rate note issued by HSBC (China) referencing China’s onshore interbank benchmark, taking advantage of arbitrage opportunities.

The recent Fed minutes signaling a reversal of the money-printing policy should not worry emerging markets investors, analysts say

ASB Bank, the New Zealand subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, returned to its domestic bond market at the end of December, raising NZ$400m ($338.1m) after increasing the size of the deal to four times what it had originally aimed for.

The wave of new CD issuance anticipated this year is likely to create a pricing benchmark for future CNH bond issues, fueling more capital market activity in the offshore market, say experts.

Top 3 Offshore RMB DCM Transactions - FULL YEAR 2012

The supply of CNH bonds with longer tenors is expected to rise as both policy banks and corporates continue to show interest in the market, developing the yield curve beyond five years, say experts.

Manufacturing in Asia has taken off, latest data show, with Chinese PMIs showing expansion. But some economists warn of weakness ahead

Australia has been the covered bond growth engine this year, adding $44bn to its market. With no redemptions due in 2013, it is set to grow faster than any other covered bond market again next year, though not at quite the same pace, bank analysts predict.

The bullish outlook for emerging markets for 2013 is supported by a “return from the abyss” for the eurozone and the US housing recovery