Worse to come in Malaysia dollar debt

Singapore

MALAYSIAN company dollar bonds are Asia's poorest performing this year and investors say that worse is to come.

Notes from the oil-exporting nation are the only of the 16 Asian countries tracked by JPMorgan Chase & Co to decline this year, losing 1.57 per cent. Companies in the index include Petroliam Nasional Bhd, the state-owned energy company, and 1Malaysia Development Bhd, a government-backed investment firm that's been forced to dismantle amid surging debts.

Money managers from Invesco Ltd to One Asia Investment Partners Pte cite factors ranging from a 13 per cent fall in the Malaysian ringgit in the last six months, a 44 per cent slump in oil …