Fund managers expect low defaults, global growth pick-up next year

Singapore

THE Singapore dollar high-yield bond market has experienced wider spreads and some defaults this year but the recent recovery in crude oil prices will give debt-laden issuers some breathing space, asset manager BlackRock's head of Asian credit Neeraj Seth told a media briefing on Wednesday.

He added that he didn't think there would be a significant jump in defaults here in 2017 unless oil prices were to nosedive again, and that he expects high-yield default rates in Asia to stay low in the long term.