Asian borrowers start ramp-up in bond sales at start of year

[SINGAPORE] Borrowers from Asia on Monday (Jan 5) kicked off dollar bond sales for 2026, in a year when analysts expect corporates globally to test issuance records to fund everything from artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to investments in the US.

At least five issuers, including the Export-Import Bank of India and BOC Aviation, started marketing notes or hired banks for possible debt offerings, according to sources with knowledge of the deals.

Borrowers are taking advantage of near-record low credit spreads for firms and governments to tap the US dollar market, as the outlook for the global economy remains resilient, buoyed by AI spending plans. Investment-grade dollar bonds from Asian companies delivered some of the strongest risk-adjusted returns in global fixed income markets last year, making 8.7 per cent, a Bloomberg index shows.    

Falling US interest rates, increased spending on AI and more M&A from countries like Japan may give a boost to offerings from the Asia-Pacific in the US currency in 2026, according to analysts, including Mark Reade, head of credit strategy at Mizuho Securities Asia.

Total issuance in US dollar from the Apac region totalled around US$330 billion in 2025, an increase of 25 per cent on the year-earlier period, and the most in four years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Reade is forecasting around US$345 billion for the region’s dollar bond sales in 2026. BLOOMBERG