Hunting for yield among local bonds

For emerging-market bond investors in the know, the former Soviet Union - especially central Asia - is the place to be. Debt markets have rallied across the board, yields are mostly buoyant, and currencies have held their own against the dollar. But title and settlement can sometimes be a little hairy. Theodore Kim investigates the excitement.

Flights to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, and Kyrgyzstan used to be sparsely filled by mining engineers or backpacking tourists. Since the start of this year, the passengers have been just as likely to include hedge fund analysts in red braces checking out what they have identified as the next hot opportunity in emerging markets.

Their attention has shifted from eastern Europe, where fixed-income yields have been narrowing across almost all the region’s debt markets. Even Russian GKOs, one of the world’s best-kept secrets last year when their yields topped 200%, now pay under 20% in rouble terms.

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