Asia 100 1997: Waiting for the impact
After a slow year for Asian Eurobonds, new issuance all but dried up following the Hong Kong stock-market crash in late October. With spreads for Asian benchmark issues widening dramatically, it was clear that confidence in Asian debt had suffered a dramatic decline. Only the most desperate, the most creditworthy or the best-known borrowers are likely to risk a return to the market in 1998.
The slow recovery of the Asian Eurobond market will be led by a small group of the region's most creditworthy borrowers: sovereigns, quasi-sovereigns and the very best of the region's corporates. Although most Asian companies will be able to issue only on highly unfavourable terms, a select few - those with export markets outside the region and solid management skills - may be able to draw on their past performance to make a successful early return to the market.
One of the best of Asia's corporate borrowers is Indonesia's Asian Pulp and Paper (APP).