Pain ahead for S-EA firms with overseas debts
Foreign-currency borrowing rears its ugly head as companies face record bond repayments amid slumping local currencies
Add BT as a preferred sourceDeeperDive is a beta AI feature. Refer to full articles for the facts.
Singapore
SOUTH-EAST Asia's penchant for overseas borrowing is storing up pain for years ahead with companies facing record bond repayments just as local currencies slump.
Thirty-eight per cent of bonds sold by Indonesian, Malaysian, Philippine and Thai companies this year have been in foreign currencies, up from 27 per cent in 2014, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Companies face US$45 billion of bond repayments in greenback, euros or yen in the coming five years, breaking records set after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, when economists Barry Eichengreen and Ricardo Hausmann coined the term "original sin" to describe the dangers of overseas borrowing.
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
TRENDING NOW
‘We’ve seen the worst-case scenario’: How Indonesia’s Cinema XXI navigated crisis and change
Malaysia tourism hit by fuel shock; tour prices may jump 50%
From 1MDB to ‘corporate mafia’: Is Malaysia facing a new governance test?
China pips the US if Asean is forced to choose, but analysts warn against reading it like a sports result
