(Sept 8): Borrowers from around the Asia Pacific stormed the dollar bond market on Tuesday, unleashing one of the busiest sessions of the year in the region, as companies across the globe are primed to tap investors in force before interest rates go any higher.
More than 10 issuers lined up transactions across the region, including Japan’s largest bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, which is seeking to sell US$3.5 billion (RM14.16 billion) of debt, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
Japanese peer Mizuho Financial Group Inc, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Malayan Banking Bhd are among other lenders targeting fundraisings while medical device maker Olympus Corp hired banks for a potential offering.
The barrage underscores issuers’ eagerness to capitalise on a rare combination of tight credit spreads, resilient investor demand and relatively calm markets, as funds gauge the potential for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates later this month. A fresh update on US inflation is due out Friday and Fed officials have suggested that it will be crucial in determining whether they raise interest rates.
“As US rates might stay higher for longer, issuers are likely pushing ahead” with funding, said Zerlina Zeng, head of Asia strategy at CreditSights in Singapore. “Credit spreads are still tight and market sentiment is strong."
The slew of fundraising is set to accelerate, with dealers expecting about US$70 billion of issuance in the US high-grade market this week alone, as investments in AI propel bond sales. Credit spreads are hovering near multi-decade lows but have begun to widen in recent weeks as investors brace for the post-summer rush of issuance. For investors, they can still lock in all-in yields of around 5.5% on average for better-rated dollar corporate debt, outweighing, for some, the risks that sticky inflation and the Middle East conflict will dent robust corporate profits.
US hyperscalers such as Alphabet Inc. are turning increasingly to global bond markets to finance capital spending that could reach US$6 trillion through 2030, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
“Companies are tapping the bond market aggressively to fund data centre buildouts, infrastructure, and compute capacity,” said Xixi Sun, head of greater China debt syndicate at Citigroup Inc. “That appetite has pushed global corporate bond issuance to record levels. We’re seeing this play out in the US, Europe and across Asia as well.”
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