The next big thing in emerging markets?

With margins shrinking in traditional capital-raising areas in the emerging markets, banks have to look farther afield to make money. One product that is beginning to whet bankers’ appetites is convertible bonds.

The instrument is not new to the emerging markets, but historically issuance has been spotty. In India and Taiwan, for example, convertibles are a common tool for corporate and bank fund-raising. In emerging Europe and the Middle East, however, borrowers have been less willing to dip their toes in the convertibles water, and the product does not exist in Latin America.