Dim sum bond issuance falls 65% to US$4.1b in Q3

Sydney

THE third quarter was a relatively quiet period for issuance of dim sum bonds, but Fitch Ratings expects it to rebound in the fourth quarter and the trend of yearly increases in dim sum bond issuance to continue in 2014.

Total issuance in US dollar terms fell by 65 per cent to US$4.1 billion in Q3 2014 from 2Q14's record level of US$11.7 billion. The total number of entities issuing these bonds fell to 45 compared with 115 in 2Q14. Fitch views the third quarter as a seasonal low, consistent with 2013's case when total issuance was only US$1.1 billion. However, issuance rebounded strongly to US$7.1 billion in 4Q13.