Firms in Europe boost long-dated debt this year

London

COMPANIES in Europe have taken on more long-term debt this year than at any time this century as they seek to lock in low borrowing costs.

The region's largest businesses have sold 225 billion euros (S$355 billion) of bonds maturing in a decade or more this year, the most in annualised data compiled by Bloomberg going back to 1999. Bonds due in more than 10 years account for 36 per cent of all investment-grade notes sold in 2015, more than any other maturity range, according to data compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co.