Investors in Asia snap up fixed-for-life perpetuals

Hong Kong

ASIAN companies are testing just how far investors are prepared to go in their search for yield in a "low flation" world.

Issuers in Asia excluding Japan have sold US$14.5 billion of perpetual bonds so far this year, a record for any half-year period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While most of the notes have rates that step up as time goes on - a characteristic that can spur issuers to buy them back - a striking aspect of the boom is that at least US$3 billion of the total in the region is made of up securities that have fixed interest payments.