Preface

Recognizing that business actors across the region must play a leading role increating a more vibrant Asian economy through using the vitality of the private
sector and closer regional cooperation, Keidanren hosted the 1st Asian Business
Summit in Tokyo on 15 March 2010. In the Summit, the participants actively
discussed the subject of Asian bond markets as part of “Promoting Regional
Monetary and Currency Cooperation,” and agreed in the Joint Statement that
“we will study the creation of needed infrastructure, such as settlement systems,
guarantee agencies, rating agencies, and related legal systems.”
As a follow-up, the 21st Century Public Policy Institute of Keidanren
established a study group to work on the Asian Bond Market Development andRegional Financial Cooperation Project (Chairman: Mr. Kawai (Dean and CEO,
ADBI), Secretariat: Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd., Members: university
professors and experts from research institutes).
Members of this study group held study and discussion sessions focusing on
the behavior of market participants, market practices and market infrastructure.
In the process, through the cooperation of Asian business associations thestudy group surveyed through questionnaire Asian financial institutions andcorporations. In addition, several members also visited select Asian economies toexchange views as to how the private sector can cooperate to develop and deepen
Asian bond markets with a wide range of local experts from emerging Asia aspart of this research project. Such experts included government policymakers,
stock exchange officials, credit rating agency personnel, members of think tanks,and market participants from Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand, and India.
This report is a summary of the Asian Bond Market Development andRegional Financial Cooperation Project. Following the analysis of Asian bondmarkets, their progress and past policy efforts, it also provides policy proposals,
including those to improve market infrastructure such as reforms of related laws,
regulations, and institutions.
We hope that this report will contribute to Asian bond market development.

February 2011
The 21st Century Public Policy InstituteProject Leader

Masahiro Kawai

Table of Contents

Project members

4

Overview of the proposals

5

1. Introduction
1.1 Background: Structural change in the world economy
1.2 The bond market that Asian economies need
1.3 Development of the Asian bond market
1.4 The significance of private-sector financial cooperation in Asia

7
7
8
10
12

2. Current status of the Asian financial and capital market
2.1 Overview of the Asian bond market
2.2 Current status of the equity market and the banking sector
2.3 Credit rating system in Asia
2.4 Insights and challenges

14

3. Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market
3.1 Theoretical analysis of fundraising vehicles
3.2 Fundamental structure of corporate fundraising in Asia
3.3 Corporate funding needs and the bond market – Current status observation37

4. Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment
4.1 Current status of capital flows
4.2 Current status of cross-border bond issuance
4.3 Current status of investors

67

5. Current status of Asian financial cooperation
5.1 The ASEAN+3
5.2 Executives' Meeting of East Asia Pacific Central Banks (EMEAP)
5.3 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
5.4 Equity market integration by ASEAN

89

14
21
24
34

37
46
55

67
75
84

89
101
103
105

6. Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives
6.1 Promotion of regional cross-border transactions
6.2 Expansion of individual economies’ corporate bond markets
6.3 Promotion of private sector cooperation

110

7. Proposals on Asian financial cooperation
7.1 Proposal contents
7.2 Future outlook

137

110
122
135

138
155

Bibliography

157

Reference: List of visited destinations in Asian countries

161

Project members

Chairman
Masahiro KAWAI(Dean and CEO, Asian Development Bank Institute)

Research members
Yoshitaka KUROSAWA(Professor, Nihon University)

Hidenobu OKUDA(Professor, Hitotsubashi University)

Fumiharu MIENO(Professor, Kobe University)

Satoshi SHIMIZU(Senior Economist, Economics Dept., Center for Pacific Business Studies, The Japan Research Institute, Ltd.)

Masato HIROSE(General Manager, Strategy Research Department II, Center for Strategic Management and Innovation,
Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.)

Kenichiro YOKOO(Director, International Cooperation Bureau, Nippon Keidanren)

Toshimitsu SHINOHARA(Councilor, The 21st Century Public Policy Institute)

Ichiro AKIMUNE(Senior-Fellow, The 21st Century Public Policy Institute)

Research members and secretariat
Yasushi HOSHI(General Manager, Economic Research Dept., Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.)

Mikio MIZOBATA(Senior Economist, Economic Research Dept., Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.)

Mitsuo MATSUSHIMA(Senior Consultant, Asian Business Development Dept., Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.)Noriyuki SUZUKI(Senior Consultant, Asian Business Development Dept., Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.)Mayako EN(Consultant, Asian Business Development Dept., Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.)Jin YOSHIDA(Consultant, Asian Business Development Dept., Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.)

4

Overview of the proposals

Private sector-driven initiatives
Proposal 1: Establish an Asian Credit Rating Agency (tentative name; to be abbreviated as
ACRA)
Harmonize credit rating services and standards throughout Asia by establishing an ACRA
Proposal 2: Launch a private-sector version of a peer review for each economy’s bond market
and establish a framework for handling suggested improvements
At the private-sector level, collate matters related to bond issues and bond investments by
non-residents so as to help establish a framework that promotes institutional reform in eacheconomy
Proposal 3: Promote the development of cross-border products utilizing the Credit Guarantee
and Investment Facility (CGIF)Work to promote the development and issuing of securitization bonds by helping CGIF withcross-border issues
Proposal 4: Develop Asian corporate bond indices
Develop, publish, and use indices that reflect fluctuations in Asian corporate bond markets sothat index-based financial products can be provided
Proposal 5: Provide information on cross-border bond investments
Create a system that enables investors to use information on bonds in the region when making
investment decisions

Approach for public sector (international organizations, governments, and public institutions)
Proposal 6: Create an Asian Corporate Bond Fund (a public–private partnership offering)
Launch as a public–private collaborative fund for Asia that invests in Asian corporate bonds(including those for public infrastructure companies and energy companies)
Proposal 7: Introduce an Asian mutual recognition system (fund passporting) for investment
trustsIntroduce an Asian mutual certification system for mutual funds, thereby promoting the
integration of mutual fund markets in Asia
Proposal 8: Establish pan-Asian rules for the issuing of medium-term notes (MTNs)
Draw up a draft proposal for the establishment of pan-A sian rules for the issuing of
MTNs based on the findings of a study group made up of experts and private enterpriserepresentatives
Proposal 9: Issue bonds denominated in a basket of Asian currencies
Strive to further develop bond markets by issuing bonds denominated in a basket of Asiancurrencies (starting as a joint initiative with international institutions)
Proposal 10: Enhance the competitiveness of the Japanese bond market
Approach the Financial Services Agency, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Japan, andother public organizations to cooperate more closely on promoting the formulation andimplementation of a policy to improve the functioning of Tokyo as an international financial
center and the Japanese bond market

51

Introduction

1.1 Background: Structural change in the world economy
Since the onset of the global financial crisis of the late 2000s, the world economy
has increasingly been driven by emerging economies—particularly those in Asia—and the role played in the current global economic recovery by advanced economies
has become progressively smaller. As advanced economies such as the UnitedStates (US) and Europe still face a number of challenges in 2011—including theneed to reduce their enormous private-sector debt, rebuild their financial systems,
and restore fiscal sustainability—it may well take quite some time before theworld economy recovers with accompanying job growth to previous levels fromthis financial crisis. Emerging Asian economies—such as China, India, andAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states—however are
now experiencing a recovery that would lead to sustainable growth, supported by
the significant rise of the middle class in these economies.1
Given this structural change in the global economy, Japan needs to implement
a new growth strategy based on collaboration with its Asian neighbors. Instead ofattempting to restore growth to its economy on the back of its domestic market andresources alone, Japan should seek to rebuild its economy by benefiting from the
dynamism of the emerging Asian economies. In fact, given that the entire Asian
region now constitutes a vast addressable market for it, Japan should actively
assist the growth of these emerging economies. Specifically, Japan needs to:● Seek to achieve economic integration with emerging Asian economies by entering

into an economic partnership agreement (EPA) that will encompass the whole Asian
region;● Provide assistance for the building of a region-wide infrastructure, including transportand energy networks, in emerging Asia;● Assist in the transformation to an environmentally friendly, low-carboneconomy;● Develop Tokyo into a competitive international financial center, enabling Japan tohelp meet the growing funding needs of emerging Asian economies;and● Strengthen the framework for financial cooperation with emerging Asian economies
in order to contribute to the sustainable development of Asian financial markets.
1
While there are growing signs of a decoupling of the growth rates and inflation trends ofemerging economies from those of advanced countries, many emerging nations are beginning topursue tighter monetary policies at a time when advanced economies are continuing to pursue
extremely loose monetary policies, causing a significant amount of capital to flow into emerging
economies in Asia and the rest of the world. See Kawai and Lee (2010) for post-global financial
crisis challenges in Asia.

Introduction

7

Against this background, the further development of the region’s markets forlong-term bonds denominated in local Asian currencies is becoming increasingly
important.

1.2 The bond market that Asian economies need
It was the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis that made the region’s policymakers andmarket participants fully acknowledge the importance of the Asian bond market.
Previously, emerging Asian economies had depended on a significant amountof foreign currency-denominated short-term loans to fund long-term domestic
investment, thus giving rise to a double mismatch (i.e., both a currency mismatchand a maturity mismatch). Consequently, once foreign loans were not rolled over,the value of Asian economies’ currencies started to decline sharply, bringing about
an extremely serious challenge to the business activity and the financial systemsof those economies. What made matters worse was that these Asian economies
lacked a solid framework for the supervision and regulation of their banking
systems, and their banks’ balance sheets were fragile due to their unsound lending
practices. It was against this backdrop that policymakers and market participants
came to recognize the need to create a more balanced financial system by further
developing the market for Asian currency-denominated long-term bonds, thereby
channeling a huge amount of Asian savings into long-term investment in Asiancurrency-denominated instruments in the region. It was also believed that such amechanism would help resolve the double mismatch problem faced by these Asian
economies, and remedy their financial systems’ excessive reliance on banks.
In addition to the reasons described above, there are four other reasons
why the bond market has taken on greater importance for Asian economies
in recent years. First, the dynamic economic growth that continues to beexperienced by emerging Asian economies—such as China, India, and ASEAN
member states—is expected to create increasingly large funding needs, thereby
raising the significance of the role played by the bond market. Second, because
it is becoming increasingly important to invest in Asian projects related toinfrastructure development, environmental preservation, energy saving, andclimate-change mitigation, the bond market is thought to have a meaningful roleto play in facilitating fundraising throughout the region. Third, multinational
corporations—particularly Japanese ones—setting up operations in emerging
Asian economies have high hopes with regard to the bond market’s ability to raise
long-term funds in local Asian currencies. Fourth, the bond market is taking on
increasing importance as a venue for relatively secure long-term investment ofassets at a time when some emerging Asian economies are, on the back of thedevelopment of national social security systems, witnessing the establishment ofpension management and insurance institutions, while the expanding numbers of
middle-income earners are resulting in increased wealth accumulation.

8

Introduction

According to research published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the
Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) (ADB and ADBI [2009]), the monetary
value of Asian demand for infrastructure development is expected to total US$8.3
trillion between 2010 and 2020, which amounts to about US$750 billion annually.
Such infrastructure will consist of energy, transportation, telecommunication,water, and sanitation systems. In that study, they argue that, in order to meetsuch funding needs, the launch of an Asian Infrastructure Fund (AIF), a bodythat will assign appropriate priorities to infrastructure projects in the Asian
region that are expected to generate particularly high returns, is essential. The
AIF will also channel international funds, both public and private, to investment
in such projects 2. Given the need to invest in not only infrastructure, but also
environmental preservation and projects to build a low-carbon economy inemerging Asia, a tremendous amount of development funds will need to beraised. While it will be essential to obtain funding from Asian governments,
governmental bodies, and various public institutions—such as the ADB, the WorldBank Group, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA)—public funds alone will not suffice,making private-sector fundraising indispensable.
One move that may prove effective would be to channel even just a small
portion of Japanese household financial assets, which amount to 1,450 trillion yen(including the 800 trillion yen’s worth of assets that are held as deposits at banks,
postal savings and other deposit-taking firms), into investment in emerging Asia.
The transformation of Tokyo into an attractive international financial center
should enable Japanese investors to diversify their investment portfolios. The
first step toward achieving this would be to create a more conducive environmentthat allows Asian governments and public institutions to issue samurai bonds(yen-denominated foreign bonds issued in Japan), and then to introduce aframework for the issuance in Japan of bonds denominated in the currencies of
emerging Asia, thereby enabling Japanese investors to invest in foreign currencydenominated bonds. With Asia likely to experience intensifying competition
among its various financial markets, such as those of Hong Kong and Singapore,
and with Shanghai expected to join their ranks, a lack of reform effort by Japan
will result in the nation’s financial markets being left behind, which in turn would
result in the erosion of its established position. In addition, Japan must encourage
emerging Asian economies to develop markets for local currency-denominatedbonds that will have a special appeal to Japanese investors. To promote such adevelopment, it will be vitally important that issues that exist in those economies’’
bond markets—namely, the lack of liquidity arising from the various regulations
and restrictions that are currently in place and the obstacles to efficient crossborder transactions caused by such red tape and market practices—be addressed.
Covering various locations throughout Asia, such infrastructure investment is anticipated to
expand total real income in developing Asian countries by US$13 trillion from 2010 onward. It
is also desirable to establish a Pan-Asian Infrastructure Forum, with the aim of coordinating
the integration of existing domestic infrastructure development plans and sub-regional
infrastructure development plans toward achieving a “seamless” Asia.

2Introduction

9This further development of the Asian bond market will allow private
enterprises to raise long-term funds for capital spending. In addition, thetransformation of local currency-denominated bonds into a vehicle for longterm, secure investment will benefit not only the household sectors of theJapanese, South Korean, Hong Kong, and Singaporean economies, which are now
experiencing a rapid aging of their populations, but also those of the Chinese andThai economies, which face the prospect of their populations aging in the near
future. As long-term bonds would provide pension funds and other institutional
investors with important asset investment opportunities, it is essential to ensure
the further development and expansion of this market.

1.3 Development of the Asian bond market
It is clear that, to date, steady progress has been achieved in the development
and deepening of the Asian bond market. This market is supported by both the
Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI), which focuses on the supply side of themarket, and the Asian Bond Fund (ABF) project, which focuses on the demandside. The former represents an initiative undertaken by finance ministers of
ASEAN+3 countries (i.e., the ten ASEAN member states plus China, Japan and
Korea), while the latter represents one undertaken by the Executives’ Meeting of
the East Asia Pacific Central Banks (EMEAP), an organization made up of elevencentral banks in East Asia and the Pacific. The development and promotion of the
Asian bond market attracted strong interest from participants in the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Minister Process,.
These policy efforts greatly contributed to the expansion of the primary market
for sovereign bonds and quasi-sovereign bonds, allowing market participants toconstruct a benchmark yield curve. Figure 1.1 plots the data available for the total
local currency-denominated bonds outstanding as a percentage of GDP for 2009
in countries and economies around the world, which include the OECD countries
and major emerging economies (vertical axis) against per capita GDP for thesame year (horizontal axis). The solid line represents the average for all samples
and dotted lines show one standard deviation away, upward and downward, fromthe average. These lines indicate that the higher the per capita income level of anation (or territory) is, the deeper its bond market becomes. They also highlightthat the bond market size in South Korea and Malaysia is significantly greaterthan the sample average. A similar graph (not included) for total corporate bonds
outstanding would again reveal that South Korea and Malaysia are ahead of
the pack, while countries like China, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines aretrailing behind the international average. This confirms that, despite the Asianbond market’s notable development to date, the level of bond market development
still varies greatly from one economy to another.

10

Introduction

Figure 1-1 Development and Deepening of Bond Markets

Source: BIS, IMF.

Another finding we made was that the level of Asian cross-border bondtransactions conducted within Asia is extremely low. Data for 2008 would showthat 53% of cross-border bond transactions undertaken by Asian investors were
for investment in North American and European bonds, with a mere 20% forinvestment in Asian bonds. This is because the Japanese investors, the biggest
investor in the region, are far from active investing in emerging Asian bonds.
This is in stark contrast to the situation in Europe, where as much as 73% ofcross-border bond investment is made in European bonds, pointing to a very highproportion of intra-regional bond investment in comparison with Asia. While
Asia’s percentage of intra-regional bond investment compares favorably withthat of North America (14%), it should be noted that in North America, US bondinvestors’ exposure to Canada and Mexico is low as US investment is focused on
global issues and, thus, its investment in the region tends to be small. Overall,while intra-Asian bond investment has increased in recent years, it has yet toreach a meaningful level, leaving a significant potential upside for the coming
years.
One initiative under the ABMI’s policy efforts that has achieved remarkableprogress is the task of establishing the Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility(CGIF), a fund whose objective is to provide credit enhancement to private issuersin the Asian region. The launch of the CGIF is designed to boost the issuance ofcorporate bonds with relatively low local credit ratings, thus facilitating increased
activity in the primary corporate bond market. Another initiative that has madesignificant headway is the project undertaken by the EMEAP to set up the ABF,
with an emphasis on creating an environment that will help private-sector
financial institutions to introduce investment trusts that track the Asian bondmarket.

Introduction11

Progress is also being made in efforts to build a market infrastructure for crossborder securities settlement, which so far has been conducted by international
securities settlement system operators (such as Euroclear and Clearstream) as
well as by US and European financial institutions which provide global custodian
services. While such conventional international settlement methods are efficient,
Asian investors relying on such services are exposed to significant risk arisingfrom time zone differences. This is known as Herstatt Risk. Time zone differencesthat exist for fund payment and securities settlement make it challenging torecover money from a counterparty financial institution that has run into ﬁnancial
difficulties or gone bankrupt during the creditor’s non-business hours. Given theincreasing volume of cross-border securities transactions that are being conductedwithin Asia, it is necessary to establish an Asia-wide settlement system that willallow investors to settle transactions during Asian business hours, and so further
promote sound cross-border securities transactions.3

1.4 The significance of private-sector financial cooperation in Asia
As has been described above, regional financial cooperation aimed at developing
the Asian bond market has, to date, been driven by public-sector groups such as
the ASEAN+3 finance ministries and the EMEAP central banks. Going forward,
however, efforts to strengthen the framework for such financial cooperation will
have to be undertaken mainly by private-sector entities (i.e., issuers, investors,
intermediary firms, securities exchanges, and credit rating agencies) that will beable to make use of various private-sector ideas in the operation of the ABF and
the ABMI. The newly launched ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum is expected to play
an important role in presenting such private-sector ideas.
One challenge that will need to be addressed in the coming years is the further
development and deepening of the Asian bond market and the promotion of bondmarket integration in the Asian region. To develop and deepen bond markets, aseries of measures has to be taken, such as expanding corporate bond markets,diversifying investor base which would bring in market liquidity, liberalizing
cross-border capital transactions, and strengthening and harmonizing market
infrastructure such as regulations, market rules, and practices. Therefore, policy
action must be taken with a focus on these issues.
To promote regional integration of Asian bond markets, it will be essential that
capital flow regulations and foreign exchange controls be relaxed, and that rules,
systems, and accepted market practices be harmonized. Given this, various efforts

3
There are also continuous discussions on other issues such as cross-border issuance andinvestment, enhancing credit ratings, and securitization.

12

Introduction

should be made to promote cross-border bond investment within the Asian region,
thus contributing to regional integration of Asian bond markets. For market
practice, it is particularly important that the private sector should strengthen
regional financial cooperation and make policy recommendations to policymakers(governments, central banks, and international organizations).

Introduction

13

2

Current status of the Asian financial
and capital market

2.1 Overview of the Asian bond market
2.1.1 Post-Asian financial crisis developments
According to market experts, one of the causes of the Asian financial crisis was
the “double mismatch” problem, a mismatch arising from foreign currencydenominated short-term borrowings from developed nations to meet the local
currency-denominated funding needs for long-term domestic investment proceeds
of. The recognition of this problem caused an increasing number of policymakers
and experts to acknowledge the need to reduce foreign borrowings and strengthen
their bond markets by channeling domestic individual savings. That led to theestablishment of the ABMI and the ABF, and develop initiatives to grow the Asianbond market through collaboration among countries in the region (for details,
see Chapter 5). As a matter of fact, as shown in Figure 2-1, both government andcorporate bonds market in Asia have been growing since the Asian financial crisis,with their combined values having grown nearly ten-fold to US$5.57 trillion as ofJune 2010, compared with US$0.56 trillion at December 1997.

Figure 2-1 Emerging Asian bond market

Note 1: Including the following countries/economies, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong,
Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and India.
Note 2: Including only bonds which are issued domestically (Not including thebonds which are issued in offshore).
Source: BIS; compiled by DIR.

The increased issuance of government bonds is attributable to the increased
fiscal spending by the those nations suffered from the financial crisis in rescuing
financial institutions and stimulating economic recovery, as well as to thestrategic bond issuance undertaken by Singapore in an effort to provide greaterliquidity to the market. As for corporate bonds, the increased issuance has
naturally been driven by growing fundraising needs resulting from economic
development. Another factor has presumably been the increasing interestsin fundraising through issuance of corporate bonds, as a substitute for bank

14

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

borrowings, at a time when the superior position of banks as funding providers
has been eroded by the evolution of the financial services industry (see Chapter 3
for a detailed theoretical study of fundraising methods).
In terms of growth rate, government bond issuances have been outpacing
corporate bond issuance because government bonds tend to drive the early stagesof bond market expansion. Such increased issuance of government bonds leads tothe creation of benchmarks, thereby setting the positive environment for corporatebond issuances in the primary market. Consequently, the matured government
bond market is a prerequisite for the growth of the corporate bond market.
When the global financial crisis that erupted in 2007, the credit contraction
resulted in the widening of credit spreads but the value of total bonds outstandingin Asia increased rather than decreased (Figure 2-2). It demonstrates that thebond market serves as a distribution/allocation system for funds and a safe havenfor investment funds even in times of financial market turmoil.
One observation is that, after bottoming out in the 2005 to 2007 period,
financial institutions bond and corporate bonds, as a percentage of the overallbonds outstanding, have been rising, probably due to the effect of the global
financial crisis that broke out in 2007. However, that may be an indication that,with the government bonds fulfilled their roles of creating yield benchmarks toa great extent, the Asian bond market is gradually shifting from a phase fromgovernment bond driven to a corporate bond driven growth.

Figure 2-2 Bond outstanding expanded in also 2007 (global financial crisis)

Note 1: Including the following countries/economies, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and India.
Note 2: Including only bonds which are issued domestically (Not including the bonds which areissued in offshore).
Source: BIS; compiled by DIR.

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

152.1.2 Status of the bond markets in different Asian countries
A broad look at the overall market landscape in Asia shows that since the Asianfinancial crisis bond markets in the region have continued to grow, but the degreeof bond market evolution and the pattern of bond market-related developments
vary from one country to another (for country-by-country bond market size, see
Figure 2-3 and Figure 2-4). While in 1997 there was a wide divergence among
Asian nations in terms of government bond market value as a percentage of GDP,
such divergence has been narrowing recently to a 30% to 50% range or so. On
the other hand, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand have been showing an increasing
corporate bond market value as a percentage of GDP, respectively, while
Indonesia and the Philippines have not, pointing to a significant divergence thatexists among different Asian economies in the context of bond market evolution.
Shown below is an outline of the history of the evolution of individual Asian
countries’ bond markets:(1) China: Given that there were no outstanding corporate bonds in the country in
1997, China’s corporate bond market has undergone a remarkable evolution
and development, supported by the Chinese authorities’ move to deregulate
the issuance of commercial papers (CPs) and asset-backed securities (ABSs).
Further support was provided by allowing medium term notes (MTNs) 4
issuance in 2008, as part of the measure that allowed the issuance of a diverse
range of bonds. Also contributing to the evolution of the nation’s corporatebond market has been the liberalizing such other regulations as those on
issuance procedures. As a result of such developments, China’s bond market
now accounts for nearly half of the overall Asian bond market.
(2) Hong Kong: The bond market is as efficient and transparent as that ofSingapore. In 1990, inaugural exchange fund bills were issued, as a meansof maintaining its currency board system and developing the local currencydenominated bond market. Such exchange fund bills were issued with long
maturities in order to develop the interest rate benchmarks. Separately,in 2009 the Chinese government issued RMB-denominated government
bonds with the objective of enhancing the Hong Kong financial market’sinternational position and internationalizing the RMB.
(3) Korea: While the Korean corporate bond market had been well developed by
1997, its subsequent growth since the early 2000s has been mediocre, due tothe increasing credit uncertainty caused by the collapse of the Daewoo Groupin 1999 and the accounting scandal of the SK Group in 2003. Even today, such
past developments cast a shadow over many aspects of the market, including
corporate bond maturities. This can be seen from the view (expressed by alocal industry source in an interview) that “there is no company in Korea thatcan claim it won’t default over the next ten years.”(4) Singapore: The Singapore bond market is as efficient and transparent as that4

For details of MTN, see the column shown at the end of this section.

16

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

of Hong Kong. The State continues to issue government bonds, despite theexistence of a fiscal surplus, for the purpose of maintaining yield benchmarks
and promoting bond transaction activities.
(5) Indonesia: Prior to the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis, Indonesia’s bondmarket had been extremely small in size, as the government had been notallowed to issue government bonds and was obliged to maintain balanced
budget. Since the issuance of government bonds aimed at helping bankrecapitalization in 1999, however, the country’s bond market has started toundergo development, and this in turn has resulted in the expansion of bothgovernment and corporate bonds. Meanwhile, the issuance of Islamic bonds
started in 2008 in the country.
(6) Malaysia: Since 1997, the Malaysian bond market has been growing
reasonably well in terms of its size as a percentage of national GDP. With thegovernment continuing to focus on the expansion of Islamic financial markets,
the Malaysia Stock Exchange became the world’s largest stock exchange interms of total value of listed Islamic bonds in 2009.
(7) The Philippines: The Philippines’ corporate bond market remains small,
although the government bonds had been issued even before the onset of the
Asian financial crisis for the purpose of funding fiscal deficit. In 2005, a bondexchange was established to serve as an electronic secondary market forgovernment bonds, resulting in increased liquidity of government bonds.
(8) Thailand: During the period from 1987 to 1997, no government bonds were
issued in Thailand. But, after the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis, thedevelopment of the country’s bond market was made, which led to the growthof the market for both government and corporate bonds. The issuance of Bahtdenominated bonds by non-resident companies has been deregulated.
(9) Vietnam: Although Vietnam’s bond market is still small in size, it isexperiencing a rapid expansion. In 2003, a capital market roadmap for theperiod until 2012 was formulated by the State Securities Commission incooperation with the ADB. The roadmap’s planned initiatives include theintroduction of the primary dealer system and the liberalization of capital
inflow regulations, and the establishment of a local credit rating agency.
(10)India: Although India was insulated from the impact of the Asian financial
crisis due to its stringent capital control regulations, such market regulations
hinder the country’s corporate bond market to grow and the market remains
small.

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

17Figure 2-3 Countr y-by- countr y bond market size

Source: BIS; compiled by DIR.

Figure 2- 4 Countr y-by- countr y bond market size (as a percentage of GDP)

Note: Using GDP data of end 2009, when calculating the bond market size as a percentage of GDP in Jun. 2010.
Source: BIS, IMF; compiled by DIR.

Liquidity in Asian bond markets is generally lower compared with bondmarkets in developed nations. Such low levels of liquidity will cause potential
impediments to bond market growth in the future. The lack of secondary market
capacity to absorb supply may present obstacles to bond trading by investors.
Figure 2-5 shows bond trade turnover by country and highlights the level ofliquidity in each market. Individual markets’ trade turnover cannot be directlycompared to each other because bond maturity structure differs from one market
to another and trade turnover is also dependent on the maturity of bonds. (As acase in Hong Kong, the unusually high trade turnover for government bonds is

18

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

due to the high volume of short-term trading of exchange fund bills, being used for
operating the currency board system.) Another point to note is that in the way of
introduction of new product (e.g. MTN’s deregulation by the Chinese government)
the changes in the bond maturity structure makes it difficult to directly compare
different markets’ bond trade turnover in a chronological way.
Figure 2-5 Bond trade turnover by countr y (period: quarterly )Source: AsianBondsOnline; compiled by DIR.

Among other indicators showing the level of liquidity, trading spreads deserve
an attention (Figure 2.6). Trading spreads are considered as one of indicationsof market liquidity since a narrow trading spread keeps transaction costs low,increasing liquidity as a result.
Figure 2- 6 Trading spread in each countries/economies

Source: ADB ”Asia Bond Monitor – 2010 November” and”Asia Bond Monitor – 2006 November”; compiled by DIR.

Looking at the liquidity of government bonds in individual markets, tradeturnover has been growing in all countries except the Philippines, pointing to theoverall trend of growing liquidity in such markets. Trading spread in the entire
Asian region is continuing to improve despite widening spread witnessed inmarkets like Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

19

On the other hand, overall corporate bond liquidity has not shown ameaningful improvement. With the exception of China, Korea and Indonesia,
trade turnover in other countries has declined (China’s increased trade turnoverhas been due to MTNs whose maturities are relatively short ), and trading spreadhas been visibly improving only in Korea and the Philippines.
Separately, a comparison of trading spreads in individual markets shows wide
spreads in Indonesia and Vietnam, for both government and corporate bonds, leaving
much room for improvement. On the other hand, trading spreads in Malaysia andthe Philippines are narrow for government bonds but wide for corporate bonds,
meaning these countries’ corporate bond markets must improve liquidity.
The improvement in government bond liquidity described above has not led
to a meaningful improvement in corporate bond liquidity. It is probably becausethat the issuance size of corporate bond has not been sufficiently large enough for
institutional investors whose investment limit could be large.

Column:MTN

The MTN (Medium Term Note) program is a scheme by which bonds may be
issued in a ﬂexible manner, according to the issuer’s funding needs. It can be used
by Japanese companies, including ﬁnancial institutions and major non-ﬁnancial
companies, as a means of raising a large amount of funds denominated in foreign
currencies. To date, the issuance of MTNs has been made mainly in London
and European market (EMTN market. The European MTN program was once
regulated in compliance with the self-regulated rules of the ICMA [International
Capital Market Association] rather than by governmental supervisory authorities.
Since 2000, the FSA of the UK has been acting as the listing authority under the
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
Meanwhile, when European market encountered the market turmoil by global
ﬁnancial crisis in 2008, local currency-denominated MTNs was issued in Asia in
which the issuance cost was competitive when swapped to US$.
In China, the Bank of China sanctioned the issuance of Medium Term Notes(MTN) in the nation’s inter-bank bond market in April 2008 under the selfregulated rules prescribed by a self-regulatory body (the China Inter-bankMarket Dealers Association). The regulatory liberalization in turn led to a seriesof issuances of three- to five-year maturity MTNs by those companies mainly
from energy/power, industrial, basic materials and real estate business operators.
China boasts a level of growth in MTN outstanding that puts it ahead of the pack
(Figure 2-7). MTN became a major form of debt issuance in China by private
sector surpassing corporate bond.
In Malaysia at the end of 2009, as much as 59% of the corporate bonds
outstanding in the nation were Islamic bonds, of which 52% were Islamic MTNs.

20

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

Figure 2-7 Breakdown of corporate bond outstanding in China(bil RMB)
Mar. 2008

Dec. 2008

Dec. 2009

Commercial bank debenture

314.5

388.7

588.4

Gov’t-owned corporation bond

376.1

521.9

720.2

Private company corp bond

92.8

158.4

376.9

CP

371.6

420.3

456.1

ABS

37.2

55.1

39.9

MTN

0.0

167.2

862.2

Source: Asian Development Bank, Asia Bond Monitor

In Indonesia, in response to the increasing MTNs issuance, is in theprocess of revising its regulations, involving an initiative undertaken jointly
by the country’s stock exchange and regulatory body for enhancing issuer
transparency for listing MTNs, categorized as private placement bonds in the
country.

2.2 Current status of the equity market and the banking sector
Figure 2-8 and Figure 2-9 show the size and the value of the banking sector, stock
market and bond market as a percentage of national GDP for selected countries,
respectively.
Although the government sector tends to raise fund through issuance ofgovernment bonds rather than bank loans, the corporate sector tends to raisefund by predominantly bank borrowings instead of corporate bonds and financial
institutions bonds,
Of note here is the fact that, while the total balance of bank loans has been
larger than that of bonds outstanding, in most nations the bond balance growth
has outpaced that of bank loans over the past eight-year. Though the Asian bondmarket is still in an early development stage, its growth will continue to be driven
by the growth of government bonds, but the above data suggests that the Asian
corporate bond market has been also undergoing steady development.
Equity market capitalization as a percentage of GDP shows that Hong Kongand Singapore have been ahead of the rest of other Asian countries (Figure 2-9),
presumably due to the large number of foreign companies listed on exchanges inthose countries. Hong Kong and Singapore have largely cemented their positions
as Asian financial centers, and the high growth potential for enterprises thatwant to list on their exchanges could lead to the growth of capital market in theregion.

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

21

Figure 2- 8 Size of banking sector, equity and bond markets (amount of money)

Source: AsianBondsOnline, IMF, BIS, SEBI; compiled by DIR.

22

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

Figure 2-9 Size of banking sector, equity and bond markets (as a percent of GDP)

Source: AsianBondsOnline, IMF, BIS, SEBI; compiled by DIR.

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

23

In Korea, while companies have continued to raise funds mainly through bankloans, the outstanding value of Korea’s corporate bonds and financial institutions
bonds market compares favorably with the outstanding value of bank loans inthat nation. The total value of Korea’s bond market (financial institutions bonds
plus corporate bonds) is a little more than 70% of the outstanding balance of bankloans (to the private sector) in the country, and slightly less than 80% of its equity
market capitalization. All in all, Korea’s corporate bond market is well developed
among other Asian counterparts in terms of the level of growth of the corporatebond and financial institutions bond market, in comparison to other financial
markets such as the stock market and bank market.
On the other hand, the corporate bond markets in Indonesia and thePhilippines show low level of bank loans outstanding as a percentage of GDP,as shown in a country-by-country comparison. There seems to be a link between
the bank loans outstanding as a percentage of GDP and Marshallian k (money
supply divided by nominal GDP), 5 an indicator for financial maturity. Viewed
from the perspective of the latter, the figures for Indonesia and the Philippines
may suggest that there is much room for improvement for these two nations’ bankfinancing market, not to mention their bond markets.
As described above, there exists diversity among different Asian countries,
with Hong Kong and Singapore characterized by their developed equity markets,
Korea by its developed corporate bond and financial institutions bond market, andIndonesia and the Philippines by their still-limited bank financing.

2.3 Credit rating system in Asia
2.3.1 Asian capital (corporate bond) market6
The practical purpose of credit rating is to help investors identify the credit riskof debt obligations arising from bond issuance (the risk of the bonds not being
redeemed pursuant to the provisions of the bond contracts) as accurately as
possible prior to the bond investment with the aim of managing investment. On
the other hand, the economical purpose of credit rating is to eliminate information
asymmetric on credit risk, thereby enhancing interest rate structure in the capital
market (interest rate composition commensurate with credit risk premium) andmarket efficiency (the elimination of inefficient agency costs) while facilitating
cross-border capital flows.

Naturally, the value is not equal to Marshallian k because the loans outstanding anddeposit balance differ from each other, and other money supply factors such as cash are notincorporated.
6This section is focused on the credit rating system of the Asian region, excluding the Japanese credit rating system and agencies.
524

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

Companies in many Asian countries externally raise funds, predominantly throughbank loans, for the purpose of funding both operating expenses and capital spending.
Historically, there has been an established pattern by the Asian banks that extend
financing to a borrower company based on a special focus on the bank-customer
relationship. As a result, the following types of inefﬁciency related to the raising of
long-term funds and their investment may exist. Namely, there is a concern that acompany may not be able to sufﬁciently manage its corporate ﬁnancial management
operations in an effective manner and incur refinancing risk from term mismatchas a result from funding, spending and long-term operating expenses through shortto medium-term bank loans. If medium- to long-term loans are being provided by
the bank, the bank becomes experience the balance sheet stress associated with theeffort to compensate for such mismatch which may have a negative impact on thebank business management. As for the capital investment, the limited availabilityof domestic long-term fund investment vehicles, such as life insurance and pensions,
may lead a company into investing a significant amount of funds in instruments
denominated in US dollars and other foreign currencies, thereby incurring foreignexchange risk. In consideration of Asian nations’ capital markets whose roles tochannel long-term funds to entities in need of funding, , countries like Malaysia,
Korea and Thailand have experienced a sharp rise in their total corporate bonds
outstanding as a percentage of GDP since the Asian ﬁnancial crisis (1997 to 1998).
Further study is needed to ﬁnd out whether the rise in corporate bond issuance wasdue to increase in substitute financing instruments for bank loans(i.e. underwrite
private placement issue to avoid single borrower’s limit) or the result from the growthof bond market with improved information asymmetries.
A brief look at the current status of corporate bonds markets in 11 nations,excluding Japan, 7 among 15 member nations of the ACRAA 8, an organizationconsisting of Asian credit rating agencies9 that distribute credit risk information,shows that the total corporate bonds outstanding as a percentage of GDP is highin Malaysia (40.9% in 2007), Korea (24.0%), Thailand (14.4%) and Taiwan (9.2%)
with other Asian countries showing a 3% range or lower. While in ﬁve Asian nations(Korea, China, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh), corporate bonds are issued on a
merit system base due to strong government regulations relating to corporate bond
The 11 nations/territories, excluding Japan, consist of Malaysia, South KoreaKorea,
Thailand, Taiwan, India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and
Bangladesh. This report’s description of the capital markets and the credit rating systems andagencies of these 11 nations/territories is partly based on “Structuring a Credit Risk Rating
Model in Asia,” edited by Yoshitaka Kurosawa, to be published (in English) in 2011 by theCenter for China and Asian Studies, College of Economics of Nihon University
8
The Association of Credit Rating Agencies in Asia (ACRAA) is an organization of Asian credit
rating agencies established in 2001 with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB),
for the purpose of strengthening cooperation among credit agencies in East Asia. The ACRAA
is composed of 28 credit rating agencies from 15 countries/territories, including Japan (as ofNovember 2010).
9
In Japan, credit rating service providers are usually referred to as “credit rating companies,”
as they are typically ordinary joint-stock companies. However, the term “credit rating agency”
is used in this section, since credit rating recently has come to take on an increasingly public
significance due to the introduction of relevant regulatory laws.
7

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

25issuance, ﬁnancial regulators in each of these nations have taken a positive stance on
the issuance of corporate bonds and the development of the corporate bond market. On
the other hand, in seven countries (India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan,
Uzbekistan and Bangladesh), there is a high level of information asymmetric relatingto credit risk, despite the existence of local credit rating agencies, making it necessary
for these nations to enhance their risk analysis capability and credit rating systems.

2.3.2 Credit rating agencies in Asia
In 1909, Moody’s of the US was set up as the first credit rating agency. Over the
60 years or so following the Moody’s launch, credit rating services were developed
only in the US. It was not until the establishment of CBRS and DBRS in Canada
in 1972, Extel in the UK in 1978, and a credit rating agency in Australia in 1981,
when credit rating services came to existence in non-US locations. 10 A series of
new credit rating agencies were set up outside of the US, and the number of credit
rating agencies in the world totaled 112 (in 46 countries/economies). Among them,
38 agencies are located in Asia (15 countries/economies).11
While the first credit rating agency launched in Asia is believed to have been
KRC of Korea, (1983), the establishment of five credit rating agencies in 1985 inJapan, both local and foreign-affiliated, 12 coincided with a surge in interest in

Figure 2-10 Number of credit rating agencies in Asia

Note: Showing 28 agencies, of which foundation date can be obtain
Source: Figure 1-11

See Kurosawa [1985], Page 167 to 191.
For a list of Asian and world credit rating agencies, see the official website of NPO Fair
Rating: http://www.fair-rating.jp
12
While the Japanese credit rating agencies previously consisted of the Japan Bond ResearchInstitute (currently R&I), the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) and Nippon Investor Service(currently R&I), with foreign-affiliated agencies consisting of Moody’s Japan and Standard &Poor’s Tokyo, the three Japanese agencies are represented in the figures as only two entities:
R&I, which was created due to the 1998 merger of the Japan Bond Research Institute, andNippon Investor Service. Fitch of the US opened its Tokyo office in 1989. Foreign-affiliatedcredit rating agencies are not included in the list of Asian credit rating agencies shown in the
figures. Hence, the credit rating agencies established in 1985 shown in the figures consist offour entities, including the two Japanese agencies, Korea’s KIS and the Philippines’ CIB.
10
11

26

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

Figure 2-11 Asian credit rating agencies (as of Nov. 2010)

Note: “*”means an ACRAA member (28 agencies). “( )” means the number of rating agency. “< >” means the foundation
date of a rating agency, or in country column “< >” means foundation date of the ﬁrst rating agency.
Source: Website and document of each rating agency

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

27

securitization in the 1980s, followed by the launch of other credit rating agencies
in that decade in Korea, the Philippines, India, China and Malaysia (bringing
to 10 the total number of credit rating agency launches in the 1980s). In 1990s,
economic growth in Asia resulted from investment boom from the US, Japan andoverseas Chinese promoted further establishment of new credit rating agencies(16 total CRAs established).Early in 2000s after the Asian financial crisis,
only two new credit rating agencies were established because of criticism forproviding the inaccurate credit ratings by existing rating agencies. During thisperiod, however, the industry witnessed the launch of the Association of Credit
Rating Agencies in Asia (ACRAA) in 2001 against the background of the AsianDevelopment Bank’s policy of fostering credit rating agencies. After that launch,various issues, including the need to improve accuracy in assigning credit ratings
and to standardize rating methods, have been identified by industry experts. At
the time of and after establishing local credit rating business, a total of 14 Asian
credit rating agencies received assistance and/or equity participation from otherinternational credit rating agencies such as Moody’s, S&P, Fitch, R&I and JCR.
Most of the Asian nations have a regulatory framework for credit rating
industry to operate and the credit rating system. 13 In the wake of the Lehman
shock in 2008 on the back of the subprime mortgage securities turmoil of thatyear, the US, Japan and EU nations revised their policies on the establishment
and operation of credit rating agencies from their previous licensing ordesignation systems to a registration system to promote competition. However,the licensing system is still in place in 11 non-Japanese Asian nations. Separately,while the exchange of information between different rating agencies is strictly
prohibited in the US and Japan, an exchange of views is carried out between
credit rating agencies on a regular basis at events such as ACRAA meetings. The
application of credit ratings by such Asian based agencies is broad, without being
confined to corporate bonds and public bonds. Credit ratings are being assigned
to a variety of financial instruments including bank loan contracts and private
placement bonds in accordance with the unique criteria in each country, and arealso being assigned to business entities, with such ratings be used by commercial
banks (in Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh, among others). Meanwhile, in
Malaysia and Indonesia, credit ratings are also assigned to Islamic bonds (Sukuk).
Although most Asian credit rating agencies have adopted US or Japanesecredit rating methodologies, their information regarding credit rating does notnecessarily represent the bond default probability. Some credit rating agencies
maintain the practice of assigning credit ratings to corporate bonds in ranking, basedon quantitative metrics and qualitative factors, with the country’s government bonds
placed at top (AAA), with the objective of helping financial regulators coordinate
corporate bond issuances and allowing industry associations to identify company
rankings (in credit rating agencies in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan,
13
The description of the characteristics of Asian credit rating agencies is based on research on
the 11 non-Japanese Asian countries/economies, shown in Note 7, and on enquiries carried out
by the author of this report.

28

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

Uzbekistan and Bangladesh as well as some agencies in Malaysia). The public
disclosure of cumulative default rates by different rating scales (covered by alater section), as data serving to indicate the degree of credit risk, is produced inonly six nations (Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, India, Indonesia and the Philippines)
among the 11 non-Japanese countries. While credit rating information is mainly
used by institutional investors (including those without large investment
portfolios), it is also used extensively by corporate bond issuers as well forbusiness management purposes, and by commercial banks as a reference for loan
provision management (in India and China).

2.3.3 Enhancement of the Asian region credit rating system
In order to use credit rating information in the Asian region in a standardized
manner, it is necessary to standardize the definition of information provided
from the credit rating, namely, the “expected default rate.” If the provision of
credit rating services is aimed at presenting a relative ranking of corporatebond issuances in a given nation and at restricting (or encouraging) corporatebond issuances, foreign investors, not to mention locals, will find it impossible
to use such credit ratings for the purpose of managing investment in financial
assets. Reliable credit rating information (credit risk information) indicating the
expected default rate must be disseminated in Asian nations in order to issueand distribute bonds (corporate bonds, government bonds, and public bonds)
based on the economic principles within the region. To do so will require market
participants to have a common understanding on the methods for using credit
rating information and build a bond market focused on an appropriate credit risk/
reward relationship. At the same time, credit rating information will need to haveaccuracy and stability on cumulative default rates and rating transition retention
rate. Shown below is an outline of the requirements that must be fulfilled bycredit rating information and the desirable method for improving of credit rating
system.
(1) How investors should use credit rating information
Investors who invest in domestic or overseas bonds must obtain information
on bond default probability (credit rating information) in order to quantitatively
manage (control) future rates of return. Here is a model-based explanation of
how investors should use credit rating information. Among the three types ofinvestors assumed (see Figure 2-12), a risk-averse investor (Portfolio A) prefers
bonds with a low default rate at the expense of return rate while a risk-loving
investor (Portfolio C) invests in bonds with a high return rate at the expenseof risk. On the other hand, a risk-neutral investor (Portfolio B – in the middle
between A and C) invests in bonds with modest risk and return rate. First, let’s
assume that each type of investor will invest 10 million yen in bonds at a time
when the default rate (risk) is accurately forecasted by credit rating agencies, anda yield (interest rate) commensurate with the associated default rate is set by themarket (the relationship between risk and return is covered in a later section).

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

29

In the event when the credit rating agency accurately forecasts the actual default
rate, each type of investor will achieve a return of 10.6 million yen (a return rateof 6%). (For the calculation method, see the formula shown below each section’s
principal amount received). On the other hand, in the event of the actual default
rate being lower than forecast by the credit rating agency (a default rate of 0%
in Figure 2-12), the risk-loving investor (C) will achieve the highest return rate,and in the event of the actual default rate being higher than forecast by the credit
rating agency (excluding AAA, 5 percentage points above forecast for BB and B,
1 percentage point above forecast for other ratings), the risk-averse investor (A)will achieve the highest return rate. Rating information by credit rating agencies
does not represent a forecast of a default rate on a daily basis. Rather, such risk
information represents a default rate as a medium- to long-term benchmark,as shown in the section stating “the expected return in the event of the default
rate being as forecast” discussed in Figure 2-12. Once credit rating information
serving as a standard benchmark is provided, the investor will be able to use thatstandard to invest in a manner commensurate with the investor ’s preference,
thereby creating a portfolio consisting of multiple different types of risks.
Figure 2-12 How investors should use credit rating information

Source: Kurosawa [2007], page 85(2) How a bond yield commensurate with risk is determined
In an efficient and fair capital market (Efficient Capital Market Hypothesis14),
regardless of the risk level of a bond invested in by the investor, he/she may expect
the same return with an interest rate commensurate with that risk being set by
the market. An interest rate commensurate with the risk involved, q (expected
For more information on the Efficient Capital Market Hypothesis relating to bonds, see
Kurosawa [2007], Page 79. Going beyond such hypothesis, in the bond markets of the US,
Canada and Japan, yields are set at a level that corresponds to the actual risk involved.

1430

Current status of the Asian financial and capital marketreturn demanded by investors), will be as shown in the formula q = (rf + Pd) / (1
– Pd), assuming that the risk-free interest rate is rf (e.g. the yield on AAA-rated
government bonds) and the credit risk is Pd (0 < Pd < 1.0). Therefore, the risk
premium rp against the risk free interest rate rf will be as shown in the formula
rp = q – rf = (1 + rf) Pd / (1 – Pd). Figure 2-13 is a comparison of the theoreticalvalues (q shown above) of corporate bonds in the Japanese corporate bond market(time to maturity 4 years, credit rating assigned by the R&I) and the actual yields
in that market. In the absence of a corporate bond market for bonds rated BB or
lower (any BB-rated corporate bond in the market is a bond whose credit rating
has been downgraded from BBB or higher as a result of business performance
deterioration) in Japan, there exists a discrepancy between theoretical values andactual values. Yet bonds rated AAA to BBB exhibit yields that are generally inline with theoretical values, allowing investors to use credit ratings in the samemanner as shown in Figure 2-12. The rating agency’s accurate assigning of credit
ratings enables the investor to know what level of premium is warranted, basedon the theoretical value, whereas inaccurate credit rating information hinders
the investor’s ability to achieve a yield composition commensurate with the credit
risk, putting the market in a state of confusion.

Figure 2-13 A comparison of the theoretical values and the actual yields(in the Japanese corporate bond market (time to maturity 4 years) )Source: Kurosawa [2007], page 91(3)Relationship between credit rating and cumulative default rate15
In order for credit rating information to be used effectively for bondinvestment management information, the accurate and stable dissemination ofsuch information is important. Figure 2-14 shows cumulative post-credit rating
assignment (post-new credit rating assignment and post-credit rating change)
default rates, presented in a model format. One phenomenon revealed by the modelis that a group of bonds rated A does not default for a period of two years after the
initial credit rating assignment or credit rating change, with the group’s cumulative
For the relationship between cumulative default rate, rating transition and market yield, see
Kurosawa [2009]15

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

31default rate migrate to 0.2% after three years and 1.5% after five years. If thecredit rating agency’s dissemination of credit rating information is followed byeach year’s cumulative default rate remaining close to the expected default rate
(accuracy), while staying stable each year (stability), investors can use such credit
ratings as forecast information and bond investment management information.
Suppose the 3-year-out default rate of a bond rated A has turned out to be
0.3%. That will have hindered the investor’s achievement of expected returns.
Separately, suppose such default rate has turned out to be 0%. That shows that abond rated AA would have sufﬁced , meaning that the bond issuer has paid extrainterest. While the expected default rate by credit rating scale is not included in
the credit rating’s definition by credit rating agencies themselves, investors dohope such rates will not ﬂuctuate greatly each year, thus giving high recognition tocredit rating agencies with strong performance both in the accuracy of cumulative
default rate forecasting (no disparity between different rating levels’ disseminatedcredit ratings and the actual default rates) and in stability (the maintaining ofdifferent rating levels’ actual default rates at a certain level over a long period oftime). Nevertheless, it is practically challenging to maintain both accuracy andstability in credit rating information. Even data from Moody’s and Standard &Poor’s shows that an accuracy and stability of 50% or higher is maintained fora period of only five years or so (cumulative five years), in the case of investors’
tolerable rating range of AAA to BBB, and for only two years or so (cumulative
two years) in the case of ratings of BB or lower.

Figure 2-14 Cumulative post- credit rating assignment default rates

Source: Actual performance of cumulative default rates of Moody’s and S&P(shown in the each website)(4) Rating transition
Rating agencies revise the credit rating when the basic assumptions includedin the initial outlook have changed following the assignment of the rating, but
overly frequent revision will result in the erosion of such credit rating’s role.
Figure 2-15 shows the corporate bond rating transitions that occurred in agiven year (2005), published by Moody’s Japan, highlighting the way in which

32

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

beginning-of-the-year credit ratings were changed by year-end. For example, 0.1%
of A-rated bonds were upgraded to Aaa within one year of the assignment of theprevious rating, with 89% unchanged at A (retention rate 89%), 3.7% downgradedto Baa and 5.3% removed from the credit rating list (i.e. withdrawal). Any delayin the execution of rating revision, after the basic outlook has changed, will
result in the erosion of the accuracy and stability of the cumulative default rate.
On the other hand, if overly frequent rating revisions are made for the purposeof maintaining the stability of the cumulative default rate, the information’svalue will be impaired. Therefore, a credit rating agency is required to keep therate of rating retention, over a period of one to five years after the initial rating
assignment, as high as possible in order to enjoy it is status as a provider ofreliable credit rating information to the investor community as.

Figure 2-15 Corporate bond rating transitions that occurred in a year (2005)

Source: Website of Moody’s Japan, “Special comment 2005”(5)Desirable enhancement of the credit rating system
For the existing credit rating agencies (agencies shown in Figure 2-11),
the task of providing credit risk information pertaining to cross-border bondtransactions appears to be challenging. The qualitative analysis of bond credit
risk is not necessarily the such existing credit rating agencies’ principal part ofbusiness. They are more equipped to provide a relative ranking of bonds issued ineach nation by using financial standing-based standards that place the nation’s
government bond credit rating (AAA) at the pinnacle of the structure. In addition,
those agencies are charged with the role to coordinate bond issuance and offer
information designed to assist the provision of bank loans. The existing credit
rating agencies also face challenges, including the absence of credit rating
methodology standardization and the insufficient accumulation of past financial
data necessary for forecasting future default rates. For a credit rating agency to
be regarded as the provider of reliable credit rating information to investors, it
must fulfill its obligation of disclosing past cumulative default rates and the credit
rating transition matrix, while showing that such information is of such qualitythat investors may use it for investing in bonds. With regard to the credit rating
information necessary for cross-border bond transactions, it is crucial to eliminate
any sense of mutual mistrust regarding the reliability of information. Otherwise,
investors will not use such credit rating information to invest in bonds.

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

33One potential step would be to reorganize the ACRAA, composed of existing
Asian credit rating agencies, into an Asian credit rating agency designed toplay the role of facilitating cross-border bond transactions, or to set up anorganization, provisionally called the Asian Credit Rating Agency (ACRA), withthe cooperation of multiple credit rating agencies, designed to play such a role.16
It would be a practical arrangement to allow existing credit rating agencies focus
on domestic functions (e.g. bond issuance coordination), including the analysis
of credit risks, and allow the ACRA serve as a credit rating agency dedicated tothe measuring of credit risks. The ACRA’s role should be to provide credit rating
services pertaining to Asian government bonds (denominated in local or foreign
currencies) as well as cross border corporate bonds issuance through standardized
methodologies, while receiving the support from existing credit rating agencies
such as issuers’, financial data. It is also important to promote long-term
financing for infrastructure development and corporate growth, taking advantage of
Asia’s well-established bank financing, and to enhance the securitization of bankloans for the purpose of assisting institutional investors intending to make longterm investment in pension and insurance contracts, with the ACRA assigningappropriate credit ratings to relevant instruments or entities. It represents aneffort to channel capital market funds to the bank loan market.

2.4 Insights and challenges
The following four points can be cited as challenges for the Asian bond market.
Firstly, the size of bond market and extent of bond market development
vary from one Asian nation to another, which has given rise to differences of
opinion among different Asian countries, causing impediment to the furthering offinancial cooperation in the region.
Secondly, the development of the bond market, and corporate bond market
in particular, is limited. Many Asian nations’ bond markets are small in size
compared with their banking sectors and equity markets, and also in terms ofgrowth rate, such bond markets have been outpaced by the latter two categories.
Corporate bond markets in many Asian nations are still in an early development
stage, with government bonds, not corporate bonds, driving growth. In a way,
government bond investment steadily taking hold means that the groundwork
toward corporate bond market development is now being laid.
Currently, the ACRAA (membership: 28 credit rating agencies) is not necessarily an open
enough organization, as can be seen from the fact that its membership does not include Rating
and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I) of Japan. Joining the organization should be madeeasier, with certain eligibility requirements, in order to develop it into a pan-Asian credit
rating agency. In the EU, the European Association of Credit Rating Agencies (EACRA) was set
up in May 2010 in Paris (as an entity incorporated under French laws). EACRA is composed offive credit rating agencies (two from Germany and one each from Spain, Ukraine and Turkey).

16

34

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

Thirdly, liquidity is fairly limited in the Asian bond markets. While
government bond liquidity is continuing to show improvement, liquidity in thecorporate bond markets leaves much room for improvement.
Fourthly, the interpretation of given credit rating information varies fromone Asian country to another, and credit ratings do not necessarily conform to
expected default rates.
Lastly, the credit rating issue mentioned in the fourth point needs to beelaborated on. In order to transform the ACRAA into a specialized credit rating
agency or establish the ACRA (see (5) in 2.3.3), it will be necessary to accumulate
data to perform quantitative analysis, train analysts equipped with specialized
knowledge, and build a financial base for sound organizational operation (sufficient
capital). As for data accumulation, the advanced methodology adopted by banks
under the Basel II accord will be a minimum requirement. It will be essential
to accumulate, as historical data, chronologically-organized past three- to fiveyear data on company finances and earnings deterioration/improvement, and toconvert the chronologically-organized main data and default data into a model
format according to business type, scale of operations and category of economic
environment. Figure 2-16 shows a matrix chart for a quantitative credit rating
analysis that has been created in a model-like format with a focus on listed
Japanese companies (manufacturing industry). It will be required to have suchcredit rating criteria in place based on actual historical data by country, typeof business, scale of operations and category of economic environment. The
creation of these criteria requires a fairly large amount of time, know-howsand experience, because accuracy and stability in cumulative default rates bydifferent credit rating scales, shown in Figure 2-11, must be maintained in theevent of a default. In addition, the accumulation of historical data designed to be
used for estimating a loss rate in the event of a default (loss rate for the creditor)
is indispensible. Since quantitative analysis alone does not suffice for credit
rating (over the last several decades, numerous attempts were made to undertake
credit rating based on statistical and quantitative judgments alone to no avail),
it is necessary to develop analysts who are capable of incorporating qualitative
assessment into their judgments together with quantitative analysis, as a meansof maintaining accuracy and stability in cumulative default rates. Credit rating
agencies’ financial positions must be kept solid as once a credit rating agency
becomes focused on revenue growth, all too often it ends up with a business model
focused on assigning biased credit ratings to the detriment of its judgment on
accuracy and stability . Separately, industry experts should discuss the potential
introduction of a common currency unit (Asian Currency Unit or ACU) for
facilitating the issuance of large-sized cross-border-type bonds to avoid rating
discrepancies affected by issuer’s domiciled country’s foreign exchange risk.

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

35

Figure 2-16 A matrix chart for a quantitative credit rating analysis in a model-like format

36

Current status of the Asian financial and capital market

3

Structure of corporate funding needs
and the bond market

3.1 Theoretical analysis of fundraising vehicles
3.1.1 Function and significance of the bond market(1) Banks’ superiority in developing nations
There are a number of rational reasons for banks’ structural superiority indeveloping nations (World Bank [2001]). Firstly, if a borrower company switches
its primary lending bank, the company will incur a considerable amount ofswitching cost since the bank has sufficiently accumulated in-house informationon the borrower company during the process of business dealings by bothparties (the “hold-up” issue). For this reason, at least in the short term, thebank has a certain kind of controlling power over the borrower company as aneffective monopolistic financing provider (Rajan and Zingales [2001]). By using
such power, the bank is able to generate information relevant to the borrower
company, even in developing countries whose economic and legal systems have
yet to be developed to a proper level. In addition, with regard to the recovery andpreservation of monetary claims, the bank is capable of curbing any potential
challenge by wielding such controlling power. On the other hand, the securities
market’s functions are predicated on public disclosure of information and theexercise of rights under laws. Therefore, in developing nations with a low level ofsystem development, such functions are subjected to serious limitations.
Secondly, the fact that the bank can generate information from its in-house
data base contributes to its superiority over the securities market in terms of
information generation (Levine [2004]). The market is faced with the challengethat many market participants are free-riding on information generated by otherinvestors, without generating any information themselves, which results in a
deficient level of information generation by the market (the “free-rider” issue). In
addition, the paid information provided to investors by credit rating agencies andsecurities companies comes only after such information becomes public, making
such information unsuited to trading on the market (the “lemon” issue). On theother hand, the bank uses information generated by itself, making it insulated
from such free-rider and lemon issues.
Thirdly, by generating information as the proxy of many bank depositors,
the bank is able to save information generation cost while avoiding duplicate
information generation efforts (Allen and Gale [2000]). Meanwhile, the bank’srole as proxy for depositors may create a conflict in which the bank’s investment

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

37

target differs from the depositors’. Still, investor ’s decision tends to easily
coincide with one another, as developing nations’ industries generally are centric
to conventional technologies and business formats. All in all, the benefit of thedepositor relying on the bank for information generation and investment target
selection should outweigh any downsides.
Fourthly, the way the financially troubled company is treated by the bankwill differ greatly from the way it is treated by the corporate bond and equity
markets. The bank will find it easier to devise a measure to address the situation
in a flexible and appropriate manner since transactions between the bankand the borrower company are undertaken on a one-to-one basis, making it
straightforward for both parties to conduct renegotiations in the event of a posttransaction adversity (Rajan and Zingales ibid.). On the other hand, corporatebond and equity market participants will find it challenging to have renegotiation
conducted between many investors and the company, even in the event of thecompany facing financial trouble. The bank’s special qualities include the ability
to assess a situation properly and the flexibility to take the steps necessary toaddress the concerned issues, putting the bank at an advantage over corporatebond and equity holders. This is because the bank is able to avoid the prospect of
the borrower going bankrupt and being liquidated when the company may well berehabilitated and its business restored to normal with the provision of additional
assistance.17
Fifthly, some experts argue that the bank, acting as the monopolistic providerof financing, is desirable for small- to medium-sized companies and emerging
companies that have only weak business fundamentals because, in a way, thebank’s monopoly allows the bank to assess its dealings with the borrower company
from a long-term perspective (Rajan and Zingales ibid.). In other words, giventhat the bank can maintain a monopolistic business relationship with a specificcompany over a long period of time, the bank is able to assume the company’s
debt during the temporary financial difficulties based on the confidence that it
will be able to generate sufficient profits in the future to repay the money to thebank. Such practice is not possible in a securities market that does not allow theinvestor to maintain a monopolistic business relationship with a specific issuer
company.
Sixthly, for entities in developing countries, bank financing is the easiest
and most feasible means of managing risk. Households in such nations arehighly averse to risk due to their low level of asset holdings. In addition, thefunction of financial markets in such nations is severely limited as a result ofsystem underdevelopment and shortages in the specialized workforce. In such an
There are some expects who argue that market money’s special quality of not easily providing an opportunity to renegotiate with the company has the function of subjecting company
management to rigorous discipline. Yet developing countries lack the legal system and specialized workforce that serve as the basis for such discipline.
1738

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

environment, the bank’s role of facilitating various entities’ risk management is anatural result of development (Levine [1997]).
(2) Financial development and the erosion of the bank’s superiority
Companies’ need for the securities market:
As the economy continues to grow, the bank’s above-mentioned superiority inthe view of companies undergoes erosion. This is because, first of all, the bankwielding its controlling power over the borrower company as a monopolistic
financing provider will cause serious detriment to such company (Rajan andZingales ibid.). Generally speaking, the more enhanced the system infrastructure
becomes, including information disclosure, the less superior the bank becomesover the market in terms of information generation. Likewise, the bigger andbetter known the company is in the business market, the less superior the bankbecomes in the above respect. A big company with a solid business foundation
will find little benefit in having its loss shouldered temporarily by the bank. In
other words, the more the economy grows and the more enhanced the legal andfinancial systems become, the stronger corporate demand becomes for fundraisingthrough corporate bond and equity issuances. Likewise, the more a company
becomes well-known in the market, the stronger corporate demand becomes forsuch fundraising.
The second reason is the negative impact of the effective implementationof loan rollovers that may require frequent revision on the loan’s terms andconditions even for long-term financing. Underlying this is the fact that bankfinancing in developing countries is often provided in the form of short-term loanrollovers. In developing nations with a high level of asymmetric information, thebank tends to set short loan periods, with the objective of performing frequentmonitoring of the borrower company and factoring the newly found information
into its loan terms and conditions (Fukuda [2004]). If the bank’s information
generation ability is of satisfactory quality, the borrower company’s practiceof repeatedly raising short-term funds will not put itself at a disadvantage. 18
However, if the bank’s information generation ability is of extremely low quality,
the borrower company’s practice of relying on short-term loans from the bankwill result in a challenge to the company’s business activities. Put differently, thepractice of short-term loan rollover imposes heavy liquidity risk on the borrower
company.
In recent years, South East Asian nations have succeeded in their efforts
to enhance their market system and remedy the issue of asymmetric corporate
information and at the same time they have been witnessing a growing number oflarge enterprises that are well-known in the market. Going forward, it is expectedthat new business models not suitable to the bank’s proxy function will assume
If asymmetric information does not exist and agreement is well in place, the value of thecompany remains the same regardless of whether short-term funds are raised repeatedly or
long-term funds are raised.
18

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

39

greater importance. Yet those South East Asian countries still have significant
room for improvement with regard to their capital market enhancement. A casein point is the existing issue of arbitrage between short-term and long-term funds
not functioning well in the market. Judging from such circumstances, companies
in South East Asian nations must have a growing need to issue corporate bonds(BIS [2006]).
Households’ needs for the securities market:
As household income grows and asset accumulation progresses, the abilityof households to assume risk as economic entities increases, resulting in thediversification of household demand for assets (Yabushita [1995], World Bank
ibid.). While households with a relatively low level of income and asset holdings
make asset selection with a focus on stability, households with a high level ofincome and asset holdings prefer to hold assets with a higher return by toleratingrisk. For this reason, as a general tendency, the more developed the economy
becomes, the stronger household demand becomes for securities with high risk
and high return, making it increasingly challenging for bank deposits to meethouseholds’ asset needs, given their security but low returns. This will potentiallyresult in households allocating a smaller amount of money to bank deposits.
Indeed, the decline in its proxy function causes the erosion of the bank’s
superiority (Allen and Gale [2000]). As developing nations’ industry structure
becomes more advanced, coupled with the growing importance of innovativetechnologies and business models, the bank depositor and the bank (acting as
the depositor ’s proxy) will increasingly find themselves differing from eachother over assessments on the potential borrowers. On the contrary, in the caseof fundraising through corporate bond or equity issuances, the ultimate fundprovider itself is able to directly select an investment target, making such types offundraising more advantageous.19
In emerging Asian nations, there has been an emergence of fairly large
middle-income households showing an increasing need for higher risk assets.
Consequently, in the growing economy the more risk-tolerant the household
becomes, the more active the household becomes in investing money in themarket, which in turn leads to greater importance of the institutional investors
commissioned with asset management by the household.
Separately, as the economy continues to grow, the insurance sector and pension
scheme will become an important provider for preserving the household’s economic
foundation. In developing countries whose economic system still remains
underdeveloped, the households heavily depend on social systems involving
Boot and Thakor [1997] argue, from a slightly different perspective, that at an early stage of
economic development the bank assumes particular importance, given the relative superiority
it has in borrower monitoring, rather than borrower screening, whereas after a period of economic development the market gains in its importance given its superiority in screening functionality.

19

40

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

mutual assistance, based on mainly family ties and neighborhood relationships.
However, with the economy continuing to grow, such social system-driven mutual
help will generally become less important, and the well-organized modern
insurance system comprising life insurance, other types of insurance, andpension scheme will be of greater . In particular, in a mid-income level economy,
the insurance sector tends to achieve rapid growth and the role of institutional
investors become important.
(3) Financial liberalization and the fragility of banks
In developing economies, banks are saddled with a significant fragility
involving the financial system. Acting as a funding intermediary, if a bank’s
lending practice is geared to longer tenor loans, it face constant risk of collapsing
resulting from bank runs caused by panic (Diamond and Dybvig [1983]). In theevent of a bank collapse, its in-house information will be lost, in turn causing
domino-like company failures and serious damage to the entire economy.20 For thisreason, prior to financial liberalization, the whole financial system is subjected toextensive regulations by regulators with the aim of averting the failure of banks.
Since the advent of financial liberalization, bank’s risk underwriting ability(credit risk and market risk) has been subject to strict limitations. This isbecause a bank has to control its exposure to credit risk and interest risk at alevel commensurate with its capital position as required by BIS regulations. In
the event of the bank’s loan portfolio becomes significantly large, or if its loan
maturity profiles become greatly extended, its ability to assume the associatedrisks will be put into question and the bank’s risk underwriting ability becomes
more contracted compared with that of the market. In addition, the bank isrequired to keep its capital position above a certain level under the capital
adequacy regulations and it results in the bank’s funding costs becoming higher
in comparison to those of the securities market, a place where funds are raised
directly from general investors. As banks rely on deposits for a significant part oflending, their ability to underwrite long-term interest rate risk is limited. Such
constraints are particularly severe for banks in developing nations, as a highproportion of the deposits held are short-term nature.
The introduction of the new BIS accord (Basel II) is also expected to havea meaningful effect on the behavior of banks in developing countries (Yoshii,
Kozu [2007]). Incorporated into the new BIS accord is a more sophisticatedmeasurement of credit risk and operational risk, which requires individual banks
to formulate a clear-cut business strategy. In order to build an optimal risk
asset portfolio in accordance with their corporate policy, banks will need a largesized capital market supported by the secondary market where various financial
instruments, including securitized instruments and corporate bonds, are traded.

20
A series of bank failures was a significant factor that contributed to the deepening of the
Asian crisis (Stiglitz and Greenwald [2003], Yoshitomi and Shirai [2001]).

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

41

As a step toward enhancing the entire economy’s risk underwriting ability, theeffective access to the market is essential. This is because institutional investors
as a group of important participants in the securities market have characteristics
that are different from those of banks. Major institutional investors such aspension funds and insurance companies are subjected to investment regulations
that are less rigorous than those governing banks, and are thus able to enjoy
relatively low funding costs. In addition, pension and insurance companies highly
capable of taking long-term interest rate risk as pension and life insurance polices
represents long-term nature. Separately, given their large investment portfolios
under management, institutional investors have the capacity to assume individual
risk by means of diversification. This gap that exists between banks and the
securities market in risk underwriting ability will allow the securities market
enjoy potential superiority over banks in raising larger and longer term funds.
The enhancement of the bond market is necessary for non-banks as well.
Securities companies in developing economies have an earnings structure that isgreatly dependent on brokerage commission revenue from trading, which could
result in unstable operations and volatile revenues at the mercy of stock market
conditions (Asian Development Bank [1999]). The growth of the bond market will
help such securities companies’ to diversify revenue sources including non-equity
products and increase their business operations that would help modernizing
their organization. In addition, access to the bond market will allow them totrade securities on their proprietary account more easily and make it possible forsuch companies to develop new hybrid products composed of equities and bonds.
Their investment in the bond market is likely to result in increased generation of
information designed to facilitate investment based on a longer term perspective.
The enhanced bond market will enable non-banks, dependent on the sourcing ofmarket money, to raise funds efficiently and allow them to stabilize their business
operations and provide a broad range of services. For non-banks engaging inasset management in the market, including pension funds and fund managementcompanies, the enhancement of the bond market will provide an opportunity togenerate non-speculative and stable revenues and contribute to the increased
operational stability and modernization.

3.1.2 Function of bonds and the funding needs of companies
As the economy continues to grow, the securities market comes to play anincreasingly significant role in the financial system with a growing need forcompanies to raise funds through the issuance of securities. Yet, only certain
companies will identify a need to issue corporate bonds. For a company, the meansof raising funds externally consists primarily of bank borrowing, corporate bondissuance and equity issuance. A comparison of these methods shows that there arethree characteristics that make corporate bonds more attractive for fundraising:
the ability to raise funds 1) through debt financing 2) through the market, and

42

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

3) involving the raising of long-term funds. 21 When examining companies thatneed to issue corporate bonds, it is necessary to understand the likely profiles ofcompanies preferring each of the three characteristics of corporate bonds.22(1) Companies preferring fundraising through debt financing
First of all, the following will identify the likely profile of a company preferring
to raise funds through debt financing through corporate bonds issuance as debt
capital instruments. Based on a trade-off approach predicated on the assumptionthat no asymmetrical information or contract deficiencies exist, the increased
funding from debt capital market will lower capital costs due to the positive effectof income tax deduction. On the other hand, such increased fundraising will also
give rise to increased risk premiums due to increased probability of bankruptcy.
Thus the company must decide on the debt ratio in a manner that will allow it tomaximize enterprise value, based on an examination of the balance between these
positive and negative effects. Therefore, (i) the higher the income rate is, and (ii)the lower the bankruptcy probability is (due to sound financial position), the more
likely the company is to conduct fundraising through debt financing.
In the agency cost approach, which is based on the assumption thatasymmetrical information and contract deficiencies do exist, there are even morefactors which affect the company’s fundraising. Under such an approach, (iii)
when a serious conflict of interest between the shareholder and management
occurs, the company is more likely to conduct fundraising through debt financing
in order to reduce the free cash flow of management. Separately, (iv) when theshareholder is prone to abuse its limited-liability and thereby create a moral
hazard as a result of the serious conflict of interest between the creditor andshareholder, the company is more likely to conduct fundraising through non-debt
financing. In addition, the company is more likely to conduct fundraising throughdebt financing if (v) management behavior is not easily observable by outsiders,(vi) if growth and investment opportunities are limited or (vii) if the company’s
liquidation value is significant. Conversely, the company is more likely to conduct
fundraising through non-debt financing when (viii) it is easier to change dividend
policy or replace assets.
(2) Companies preferring market money over bank loans
Next, the following will identify the likely profile of a company preferring toraise funds for debt financing through the issuance of corporate bonds rather than
through bank loans. According to Diamond [1991], who focused on the difference21
The enhancement of the bond market was selected by South East Asian nations as the key
issue for financial reform after the Asian financial crisis. The need to enhance domestic markets’ capacity for long-term fundraising, as a means of avoiding double mismatch in currency
and loan term, was recognized. While corporate bonds consist of both long-term and short-termbonds, the strengthening of long-term fundraising is the major focus of bond market enhancement in South East Asian countries.
22
For an empirical study of corporate bond issuer companies in South East Asia, see Nagano[2005]

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

43between bank and corporate bonds in terms of their information generation
function, the issuance of corporate bonds is confined to companies with a limited
need for information generation, such as: (i) companies in a highly sound financial
position, characterized by high profitability and low debt ratio, and (ii) companies
with superior creditworthiness, supported by their solid past debt repayment
track record. Bolton and Freixas [2000], who likewise focused on the information
generation function, argue that a company’s available fundraising methods areprioritized in the following order: internal reserves, venture capital financing,bank loans and finally corporate bond and equity issuances. They also argue thatthe issuance of corporate bonds and equity is confined to (iii) only companies withstrong earnings. In a similar argument, Hoshi et al. [1993] state that corporatebond issuance will work to the advantage of companies unlikely to cause moral
hazard, thus requiring limited monitoring, and that such companies typicallyhave (iv) promising investment opportunities, (v) a significant level of assets withhigh collateral value and (vi) a limited amount of debt. Meanwhile, by focusing on
the proxy function of banks, Allen and Gale ibid., claim that fundraising throughthe market may take precedence for (vii) companies whose enterprise value
is based mainly on sophisticated technological information and/or innovative
business models.
(3) Companies preferring long-term debt capital
Lastly, the use of corporate bonds as long-term debt capital instruments
needs to be discussed. On this point, Fukuda [2003] argues that, assuming theexistence of contract deficiencies and asymmetric information, (i) the higher the
potential revenue from the project is, (ii) the bigger the agency cost becomes,
due to management’s own high profits and (iii) the larger the gross debt amountis, the more likely the company will prefer long-term funds (corporate bonds)
over short-term funds (bank borrowing).23 Hart and Moore [1994] also claim that
corporate bond issuance is preferred by companies when the repeated practice ofraising short-term funds may potentially cause detriment to management basedon the assumption that there exists a contract deficiency between management
and the shareholders allowing management to enjoy benefits not verifiable by theshareholders.

3.1.3 Market enhancement and channel reliance
According to a comparative system analysis, system development tends to involve
channel reliance (Aoki [2001]).24 For this reason, the growing need for a shift froma bank-centric to a market-centric financial system, coupled with the increasing
potential need for a bond market, will not bring about an immediate system
When a company itself is faced with asymmetric information, it will choose short-term funds(Flannery [1986]) because company management will find it desirable to make investment
while revising information as frequently as possible. Such a company will be able to use additionally-acquired information more effectively by using short-term loans, rather than longterm loans, for that purpose.
23

44

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

change and bond market growth. This is because the rapid change of an existing
system requires the changing entity to incorporate a package of subsystems into
the existing system that mutually perform externality, and this entails significant
costs. Measures to be taken to improve the functioning of the securities market
as a venue for the rational distribution/allocation of funds include: the protectionof minority shareholders’ rights, the strengthening of corporate information
disclosure obligations, the enhancement of credit rating agencies’ quality, an
improvement of securities companies’ information generation ability, and anenhancement of institutional investors’ sophistication. However, detrimental
factors affecting the securities market exist in interdependent and mutuallycausal relationships, making it necessary to formulate a comprehensive policy
package in order to remedy the situation. In South East Asian countries, given the
bank-centric systems that has been built over the years, a policy effort needs tobe made to develop markets into US/UK-style securities markets (Okuda, Mieno[2009]).25
In order to overcome the challenge of channel reliance and enhance thebond market, active policy support from the government will be essential. For
the market-centric system to function efficiently, it will be vitally important toensure that investors are being allowed access to reliable public information,
which will have to be supported by legal/accounting system enhancements, expert
development and the establishment of various types of financial institutions. In
addition, coordination of the overall components of such system infrastructure
will need to be managed to enable such components to function in a mutuallycomplementary manner after enhancement. The government is expected toplay the role of coordinator in an active manner, while making efforts to utilizefinancial and technological assistance from international financial institutions.26
In enhancing the bond market infrastructure, private sector need to makepolicy recommendations. The construction of a new infrastructure may potentially
The Asian financial crisis, the opening of the banking market to foreign players and the introduction of the Basel II accord are likely to provide an opportunity to fundamentally reassess conventional bank business management and achieve a transformation of the economic
system.
25
Given the channel reliance involved in system development, one option worthy of discussion concerning the enhancement of the bond markets of Asian nations is to aim at achieving
a so-called market-centric indirect financing platform while actively leveraging the functions
served by banks (Ikeo [2006]). Developing countries are still faced with the challenge of a significant level of asymmetrical information while the extent of market information generationin such nations is insufficient. Under such circumstances, one effective step for laying the
groundwork for the expansion of the market’s role would be to facilitate the issuance of bonds
for the foreseeable future by leveraging banks’ information generation ability. Such leveraging
would be conducted by having banks provide guarantees on corporate bond issuance and/or by
securitizing banks’ loan portfolios.
26
Currently, experts are working on the enhancement of the Asian bond market. Such efforts
consist of the Asian Bond Market Initiative, being conducted under the framework of theASEAN+3, and the program implemented by the Asian Bond Fund under the framework of the
EMEAP. Separately, the ADB is assisting these bond market enhancement projects through six
newly-launched working teams covering, among other issues, settlement, credit guarantee, securitizing and credit rating (see chapter 5).
24

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

45

involve conflicts of interest between the incumbent players and the new entrant
players, making it necessary to pay due attention to the opinions of such new
players as well as those of the incumbents. In order to overcome the challengeof channel reliance and, in turn, build an infrastructure capable of functioning
efficiently as its entity, the private sector, as the principal player, must actively
participate in policy formulation while involving itself in policy coordination,rather than accepting government-devised policies in a passive fashion.
Also important for the enhancement of the South East Asian bond markets
will be policy recommendations from the Japanese private sector. In recent years,
there has been an increasing number of Japanese companies setting up operations
in South East Asian markets, accompanied by a rising trend of Japanese financial
institutions and non-Asian credit rating agencies expanding their presence in
Asian financial markets. Japanese companies targeting such markets will become
potentially important bond issuers as their needs for local currency-denominatedlong-term funds will likely grow. Meanwhile, Japanese financial institutions andcredit rating agencies will be able to expand their potential customer base for
local Asian bonds by providing Japanese investors with available information.
Potentially, such companies and financial institutions, as new market entrants,
may become important players capable of changing the conventional bank-centric
Asian financial system. In that respect, it will be highly desirable to reflect any
requests from the Japanese private sector in the initiatives when changing thefinancial systems of emerging Asian nations.

3.2 Fundamental structure of corporate fundraising in Asia
3.2.1 Basic characteristics
This subsection provides a summary of past and present financial structuresin East Asia, which will serve as the basis for analyzing the bond market
development in the region. In addition, this subsection will highlight the potential
for future structural transformation. Central to the fundamental viewpoint
expressed in this summary is the entity in need of funding, namely, corporate
funding.
In Asia, the study of the Asian financial crisis pointed out structural problems
from the perspective of corporate governance, namely, excessive reliance on bankloans and underdeveloped capital market. Meanwhile, in terms of the “need”
for the bond market, such overreliance on bank loans has been identified as
responsible for the worsening of mismatches in both loan maturity and currency.
This understanding, as part of an analysis of money flow in the macro economy,
is fairly reasonable and persuasive. However, when one observes East Asianfinancial structures from the perspective of corporate financing, the reality may
look rather different. Observations based on the perspective that the development

46

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

of the corporate bond market is beneficial to fundraising entities should be
helpful.
(1) Inactive debt financing
Figure 3-1 and Figure 3-2 is a comparison of the debt ratios of leading
East Asian companies, based on existing research on East Asia and developed
countries. The comparison reveals that the debt ratio of East Asian companies
tends to be lower in comparison to that of their peers in developed nations when
the average value of the capital composition of East Asian nations’ major listedcompanies (the composition of the liabilities and equity side on the balance sheet)
was used.27
This fact means that external financing has played only a limited role as afundraising source for major listed companies in East Asian economies in spite of
the high proportion of financing intermediation in the total money flow, a featurethat is frequently mentioned by experts. That, in turn, shows that leading East
Asian companies are structurally heavily dependent on their own equity capital.
Such structure is not a by-product of the Asian financial crisis. Rather, it is the
traditional structure of companies in East Asia (in particular, South East Asia)
that has existed even before the crisis.

Figure 3-1 Major companies’ debt ratio (debt / total asset) in Asian countries
referring from prior researches

Note1: Bank Loan Ratio = Bank Loan / Total Asset
Note2: In Claessens et.al [1998], sample may contain ﬁnancial institutes, regarding sample
number. In Mieno [2006-2], sample contains only manufacturing industry.
Source: Claessens et.al [1998], Mieno [2006], Lee et al. [2000], Mieno [2006-2], Sutou [2008]

While the research by Rajan & Zingales (1995) is well-known among experts ascomprehensive comparative research on the capital composition of companies in developed
nations, it should be noted that, having been collected in 1991, the samples used in that
research are rather old. Given the progress achieved by the securities market during the lasttwo decades, the current debt ratios of such East Asian companies may be lower than thoseshown in the figure.

27

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

47

Figure 3-2 Major companies’ debt ratio in developed countries (as of 1991)

Source: Booth et al. [2001], Claessens et al. [1998], Rajan & Zingales [1995](2) Withdrawal of financial intermediation (commercial banking) from growth
sectors
After the Asian financial crisis, a significant change occurred in commercial
banks’ lending activities. As is well-known, during the process of recovery fromthe non-performing loan turmoil in the early 2000s, the commercial banking
sector in East Asia experienced downsizing in business and changes in corporate
ownership structure, temporary nationalization by governments and corporate
acquisition by foreign companies. With deposits and loans outstanding slowly
recovering from 2002 or so, East Asian commercial banks’ business operations on
the whole recovered from the crisis while regaining stability. This recovery period
coincided with a period when East Asian real economies attained a high growthrate driven by exports from the manufacturing sector. The issue here was the factthat the commercial banks’ involvement in the recovery process of real economy
sectors during that period is insignificant, while continuing to shift to domestic
sectors such as real estate, financial services and personal consumption.
Figure 3-3 illustrates the total loans of commercial banks in four ASEAN
countries to the manufacturing sector as a percentage of those banks’ overall loans
outstanding, compared with the manufacturing sector’s value-added ratio. Plottedon the horizontal axis in the figure is the value-added ratio and the loan ratio
shown on the vertical axis. The part below 45 degrees represents a state in which
the commercial banks’ lending activities are not involved with the manufacturingsector as much as the sector’s proportion of the entire economy on a relative basis.
The figure shows that, in each of the four nations, the manufacturing sector’svalue-added ratio experienced only a limited degree of change from the latter halfof the 1990s or the very early part of the 2000s until recently. On the other hand,
it reveals that the ratio of the commercial banks’ lending to the manufacturingsector declined at a rapid pace.
This data suggests that manufacturing sector companies, acting as a driverof East Asian economic growth, have become less and less dependent on debt
financing in what appears to be a “return” to self-financing.

48

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

Figure 3-3 Loans to manufacturing sector / Manufacturing sector’svalue-added ratio

Source: Central banks in each country(3) Limitation of the role of the securities market
Amid the occurrence of such trends with regard to debt financing, thesecurities market has largely failed to play a role as a substitute for debt
financing. From sometime during 2004 to 2005, international fund inflow into
East Asia recovered, with many nations in the region starting to receive a net
inflow of portfolio investment funds. While the Lehman shock slow the flow
temporarily, a recovery took place in the very early part of 2010, followed byan overheating that has been observed recently. There is no straightforward
explanation to the relationship between these developments and the securities
market’s changing role in connection with corporate fundraising. To analyze thispoint, it will be important to consider the distribution of major companies by theirrelationship with the securities market. Figure 3-4 uses data on Thailand as acase example to illustrate the distribution of listed and unlisted major companies(based on total asset size as of 2005) alongside data on the ratio of capital
participation by foreign companies.

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

49

Figure 3- 4 Thailand’s companies distribution
for asset size and foreign company capital participation

Source: Mieno, Fuda [2010] and central banks in each country

The figures show different classes of companies by size of total assets. These
classes are placed from left to right in the order of asset size, with the top 100
company-class at far left and the top 1,100 company-class at far right. The
distribution of listed and unlisted companies as well as the ratio of foreigncompany equity participation for each class’s bar are presented. On the upper sideof the chart are listed companies, with unlisted companies shown on the lower
side, with the two sides divided by a bold line. The farther a company is fromthe dividing line, the higher its foreign company capital participation ratio is(the segments neighboring the dividing line represent companies with no foreigncompany capital participation).
As can be seen from the chart, companies listed on a stock exchange andactively raising funds through the capital market account for a limited proportionof the total companies.28 Most joint ventures and subsidiaries with a high foreign
ownership ratio belong disproportionately to the unlisted company group anddo not have any activities in the securities market. Presumably, many suchforeign-owned companies constitute manufacturers acting as the driver for thehigh growth of the real economy market. Having no exposure to the domestic
capital market financing (and to debt financing, either, as described above),
When compared with other ASEAN nations, Malaysia shows a high proportion of listed companies in the total number of total asset size-based major companies (i.e. 445 companies out of
the top 600, or 74.1% of the total). On the other hand, Indonesia shows a proportion even lower
than that of Thailand (89 companies out of the top 500, or 17.8%), as does the Philippines (177companies out of the top 500, or 35.4%). While the proportion of foreign-owned companies in
Malaysia, 99 companies out of the top 600 (16.5%), is significantly lower than that of Thailand,
both countries exhibit the common tendency that such locally-incorporated entities are unlisted companies. (Research by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation).

2850Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

such companies have a strong tendency to rely on self-financing. Companies
actively raising funds through capital market financing probably belong mainly
to the segment with foreign ownership ratios of less than 10%, within the listedcompany category side. Put differently, the increasing portfolio fund inflow into
the domestic market is not exerting any direct effect on the “core” part of theexisting growth structure.
The above discussion highlights the characteristics of the fundamental
structure of East Asian companies’ fundraising activities, namely: (i) a generally
low level of debt financing activities and a high dependence on own equity capital;(ii) a decade-long trend of bank lending practice unfocused on growth sectors;(iii) the underdevelopment of the securities market for corporate fundraising.
Presumably, the current status of corporate fundraising described here does
not directly imply that the fundraising entities are necessarily in a sluggish
state. This is because the heavy dependence on self-financing could be largely
attributable to: a) the lack of system enhancement relating to external financing
vehicles commensurate with the quality of the funds needed; b) the current
structure of the real economy. The “need” for the bond market should be studied
in relation to these points, which are covered by the following sections one by one.

3.2.2 Significance of corporate bond financing– external financing vehicle commensurate with the quality of the funds needed(1) Comparison of external financing and self-financing
The above-mentioned financial structure, from the perspective of corporate
financing, has important implications for the identification of a desirable stateof corporate bond-based funding needs. Put differently, focusing on the issueof the shift from bank loans to the securities market (i.e. the capital market
or bond market) may not necessarily be the right approach. If the actual
problem is an extremely infrequent use of external financing, including bankloans, in comparison to self-financing, bank loans (financial intermediation)and the securities market should be seen as mechanisms that have mutuallycomplementary relationship with each other.
Given that a company’s decision to use corporate bond financing as one form of
external financing, the current task must explore the steps to help companies use
external financing more actively on the whole, instead of seeing corporate bonds
as a substitute for bank loans, and explore the factors causing impediment to bothbank loan financing and corporate bond financing.
(2) Functional differences among financial intermediation, the bond market andthe equity market
A focal point to develop the Asian corporate bond market is the term structureof funds based on the view that corporate bonds, unlike bank loans, are

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

51

instruments for providing long-term funds that could provide a solution to the“term mismatch” issue. On the other hand, industry experts attaching importanceto the roles of corporate governance and the capital market have identified theissue of minority shareholder rights protection as their focal point.
When external financing is broken down into financial intermediation, thecorporate bond market and the capital market and subsequent examination of
their respective roles and characteristics are made, it is clear that such focal
points are extremely well focused, in consideration of the entire picture.
Figure 3-5 outlines the characteristics and roles of the three types offundraising methods from four different perspectives.

Figure 3-5 Fundraising channels and suitable industr y sector

Source: Okuda, Mieno, Ikushima [2007], Okuda [2007]

Firstly, the three fundraising methods differ from one another in information
generation cost, which is generally low for financial intermediation and highfor the securities market. The second difference among them involves with thenecessity of contract compliance enforceability and equity interest holder rights
protection. As a general rule, in comparison to financial intermediation, thetwo fundraising methods practiced in the securities market tend to incur costs
relating to contract compliance enforcement, and the full functioning of these two
methods requires a high level of protection for equity interest holders’ right. The
third difference involves fund term structure29, with the fourth difference being
associated with the investor’s risk tolerance level.
In view of such an overall picture, it is possible to point out that past
discussion on corporate governance and bond market development placed
particular focus on the second and third perspectives. It is problematic that the52

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

third perspective identifies the demand for long-term funds to be challenging at atime when, as described above, overall demand for external financing is actuallystagnant.
In addition, when analyzing demand for corporate bonds, it should be noted
that, while the first and second perspectives involve problems in the overall
economic structure, the third and fourth perspectives involve technological orindustry structure-related problems. One potential approach would be to thinkthat corporate bond financing requires (1) “long-term” funds, compared withfinancial intermediation and capital financing, and is (2) suitable for industrial
sectors with a relatively low level of risk. While corporate bond financing has
recently managed to achieve a degree of growth in the consumer financing(installment financing), infrastructure and general financial services sectors, suchdevelopment can be explained by these perspectives.

3.2.3 Asian economic development and its bond market – the current structureof the real economy and its change
As described above, bond market development tends to be greatly influenced by
the corporate funding needs by the industrial sectors in the real economy. Yet
the above represents a short-term perspective-based discussion that is focused
only on the current situation. The initiative to develop the Asian bond market
is motivated not necessarily by considerations of the current economic situation
alone. It is motivated also by a longer term perspective-based philosophy
embracing the future of East Asia, which makes it important to pay due attention
to the relationship between medium- to long-term change in East Asian economic
structure and the growth of the region’s bond market.
The low level of corporate bond financing activities (or external financing
activities overall) in East Asia by private companies to date may be closely
related to the region’s economic growth structure, namely, its traditional patternof economic growth. Put differently, when economic growth is driven by exportoriented manufacturers supported by direct investment, the production mainly
relies on relatively well-known technologies (with a relatively low degree of
information asymmetry). That allows financial intermediation to play a significant
role in the area of external financing. Furthermore, actual business activities
presumably involve unique funding vehicles 30 such as relay loans and capitalincreases, used in particular by foreign-owned companies, and those vehicles
In the past, discussion on the Asian bond market often focused on corporate bonds’ function
in raising long-term funds, as can be seen from industry experts’ awareness of the need toeliminate “term mismatch.” Yet the current ongoing initiatives have witnessed a growing
expectation that corporate bonds can serve as vehicles for short-term and medium-term
fundraising as well, a function already performed by mid-term notes, whose issuance has been
expanding.
30
It should be possible to regard them as a single type of self-financing.
29

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

53are probably performing better than financial intermediation. The low level ofcorporate bond financing activities seems to have as its fundamental backgroundsuch growth structure of the real economy.
■ Short-term challenge: Financing for infrastructure investment
Under such circumstances, the Asian economy is now in the process of change.
A very short-term challenge, perhaps, is the enormous potential demand forinfrastructure investment. Fundraising relating to infrastructure is exactly wherebond financing is expected to play a significant role due to the long-term natureof the funds raised and the medium level nature of the risk involved. Issuersof bonds for infrastructure investment will probably consist of both public andprivate sector entities. Given the development already achieved by public bonds,
the next challenge should be corporate bonds.
■ Medium-term challenge: Steps to adapt to an increasingly consumer-oriented
economyOne medium term challenge is the changing East Asia economic landscapein which there is a gradual shifting from excessive reliance on exports toward a
consumer-oriented economy. Affluent consumer lifestyles are increasingly common
in the urban areas of East Asian nations. While the relative proportion of theconsumer spending and domestic demand segment to the export segment within
the overall economy has yet to rise, the former segment is now continuing to growin a steady manner. Corporate bond financing is likely to play a meaningful rolein the consumer spending and consumer finance sectors.
■ Long-term challenge: Manufacturing sector sophistication and changing
technologies for addressing environmental challenges
The longer-term outlook shows that the bond market’s function (or the bondmarket’s function as part of the whole securities market’s function) will potentiallybecome important when the current role of the East Asian manufacturing sector
begins to change from the production base for companies based in developed
countries, giving rise to large-scale investment in new technologies in East
Asia. In particular, as is often claimed, South East Asian nations have potential
comparative advantage globally in bio-resources and solar power generation.
If such a shift in industrial structure toward new technologies occurs, it may
constitute a major technological structure-based leap forward for the region, froma labor-intensive model to a capital-intensive model, likely requiring the overall
securities market, including the bond market, to perform their functions.
From the viewpoint of Japanese companies, the export of environmental
technologies will play an important role in the country’s future growth strategy.
The question of how the bond market should be used in relation to suchenvironmental business should be discussed going forward in an earnest andprudent manner.

54

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

3.3 Corporate funding needs and the bond market –Current status observation31
3.3.1 Asian bond market: A bird’s-eye view of the five nations
This section examines the current size of the Asian bond market by analyzing,
the most basic data required for the propose initiatives to grow the market. The
growing size of the Asian bond market has recently been examined in various
research reports, including the ones published by the International Monetary
Fund, the World Bank and the Bank for International Settlements. The AsianDevelopment Bank has continued to provide information on the Asian bondmarket as a basic effort towards developing the market (AsianBondsOnline 32 ),examining country-by-country bond market price and size data compiled in amacroeconomic manner, making it one of the most comprehensive databases now
available given its extensive country coverage and timely updating of information.
The available market size data consists of the total value of bonds outstanding
and such value as a percentage of GDP, both which are presented separately forcorporate and public bonds as well as local currency-denominated and foreign
currency-denominated bonds.
Figure 3-6 shows the historical total bonds outstanding as a percentage ofGDP for Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, compiled inaccordance with the World Bank Financial Development and Structure Dataset.
It shows that, compared with the 1997 level and pre- and post-Asian financial
crisis data, these nations’ bond markets expanded significantly in the 2000s.
While the last decade witnessed a continuous decline in the proportion of private
sector financing, capital market growth varied from one country to another. Still,
the value of total bonds outstanding has continued to rise noticeably in each of
the five nations.
Meanwhile, Figure 3-6 indicates that two considerations regarding the growthof these bond markets need to be made. Firstly, the late 1990s was a periodcharacterized by a rapid contraction of financial transactions in Asian nations in
the midst of the region’s ﬁnancial crisis. Therefore, when reviewing the Asian bondmarket development, it is necessary to make a comparison with the status quo in
2002 at a time when the ﬁrst attempt to undertake such bond market developmentrelated initiative was launched. A comparison of 2002 and 2007 ﬁgures shows thatbond market growth was fairly limited during the given period, with Indonesia
posting negative growth and the other four Asian nations showing marginal growthover a ﬁve-year period. Yet in 2009, in the wake of the Lehman shock, the value of
total bonds outstanding was increased in Korea, Thailand and Malaysia.
In writing these subsections, assistance was given by Ms. Tran Van Anh, Kobe University
Graduate School, with regard to data preparation and organization.
32
http://asianbondsonline.adb.org/
31

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

55

Figure 3- 6 Bond outstanding in each countr y (as a percentage of GDP)

Source: World Bank, Financial Development and Structure Dataset

Secondly, from the perspective of the need to remedy “term mismatch,” itis necessary to pay attention to historical changes in corporate bonds (private
corporate bonds) instead of the overall bond market. Although they account for ahigh proportion of the total bonds outstanding in Korea and Malaysia, corporate
bonds make up only a limited part of the entire bonds outstanding in Thailand,
and represent a negligible portion of the total in the Philippines and Indonesia.
A 2002-2007 comparison of historical corporate bond ﬁgures points to each country’s
ﬁgures remaining more or less ﬂat during that period. By using the 2009 figures forcomparison, it is possible to understand that it was after the Lehman shock that
corporate bonds issued by private companies began to exhibit noticeable growth ineach Asian country.

3.3.2 Scope of observation and source of information
In order to appreciate the significance of the bond market expansion describedabove from the perspective of the fund demand side, it will be essential to havemore detailed data points on detailed types or category of bond issuers as the bondmarket function varies according to whether the bonds are public or corporate
bonds, whether the public bonds are government bonds or central bank bonds andwhether the corporate bonds are those issued by a private company or state-run
company. The bird’s-eye view-like information available here does not allow one toknow such details.33

56

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

In addition, regarding corporate bonds, it will be important to have informationon the industrial sector and type of business of the issuer. Firstly, the speciﬁcationof whether the issuer is a financial institution or non-financial institution will
be important for determining whether or not the bond market has been growing
while playing its expected role of helping remedy “term mismatch.” Secondly, withregard to issuances by non-ﬁnancial sector entities, it will be necessary to ﬁnd out
industry details, such as whether an issuance represents fundraising by an issuer
belonging to the manufacturing sector that has been driving East Asia’s economic
growth to date, or by an issuer belonging to the non-manufacturing sector, including
infrastructure development and other domestic demand-related businesses. Thirdly,
to understand the relationship between the foreign-owned companies (a uniquefeature of East Asia’s economic growth) and the bond market should be importantfrom the perspectives of manufacturing sector growth and potential use of the Asianbond market by Japanese companies operating in East Asia.
As a step towards examining such information, it will be necessary to rely on
individual Asian nations’ information sources. The most basic individual country
information is contained in financial statistics published by the respective nations’central banks. While the level of the coverage varies from one country to another,such central banks’ financial statistics allow one to partially identify whether the
public bonds are issued by government or central bank and whether the corporate
bonds are issued by a financial or non-financial institution. However, details
beyond those data will need to be obtained by collecting raw data on individual
issuer companies and bond issuances. One way of collecting such data would be touse the databases provided by financial information providers such as Thomson
Reuters and Bloomberg, but their information coverage may prove insufficient,
depending on the data source involved.34
Primary raw data can be obtained from data base held by the securities
industry associations, bond dealer associations and credit rating agencies of theindividual countries. Such raw data has been collected, to the extent possible,and compiled for the purpose of examination. Still, at times the informationacquired by those institutions is limited to “public placement bonds” and includes
public bonds and bonds issued by state-run companies, which may result in theomission of various kinds of information. Shown below is an examination of thecollected information, which serves as basis for the information compiled from
AsianBondsOnline and the statistics of the individual countries’ central banks,
while paying careful attention to the uniqueness of the individual.
The review was made on five Asian nations: Thailand, Korea, Malaysia,
Indonesia and the Philippines. A relatively greater focus was placed on Thailand
33
In particular, all too often information on bonds issued by a state-run company does not
specify whether the specific issuance is categorized as a public bond or corporate bond.
34
A drawback of such commercial databases is their high price and generally limited amount of
information on the value of the bonds outstanding in comparison to bond issuance information.
In addition, the extent of the data coverage is not necessarily clear.

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

57

for the observation as the country’s available information is far more detailed
than that of the other four nations. As for Korea, only the compiled information isshown as a reference, since information source for raw data was unobtainable.

3.3.3 Composition of bonds: A detailed classification of public bonds andcorporate bonds(1) Thailand
The following is an observation of historical changes based on a more detailed
classification of public bonds and corporate bonds. Figure 3-7 is the historicalvalue of the total bonds outstanding in Thailand as a percentage of GDP. The
entire raw data from 1998 onward were available from Thailand, making it
possible to compile all the relevant data points.
Based on this chart, several characteristics of the Thai bond market can be
identified. Firstly, the overall Thai bond market has been growing in a continuous
manner, yet certain reservations can be made in the interpretation of that trend.
Among all the types of bonds, public bonds have grown significantly, but thatgrowth was essentially due to the issuances of central bank bonds in the period
from 2003 to 2007. Government bonds continued to grow marginally until 2004,
followed by a flat period, before increasing rapidly during the recession in thewake of the Lehman shock. Secondly, it is possible to ascertain that approximately
half of what were deemed to be corporate bonds in AsianBondsOnline of the AsianDevelopment Bank and many of the reports issued by international institutions
were actually bonds issued by state-run companies.35 While the private sector’sneed for corporate bond issuance has been picking up marginally, it is apparent
that the rate of growth remained extremely low until the Lehman shock. The
market growth accelerated markedly in 2008 and 2009 in the wake of the Lehman
shock. Thirdly, the proportion of financial institutions bonds to the total bonds
outstanding has not been notably high, at 2.7% to 3.0% of the total in the 2004 to2007 period. Nevertheless, fundraising through bond issuance was undertaken
separately by three state-run banks (the Export-Import Bank of Thailand, theGovernment Housing Bank of Thailand, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural
Cooperatives) in addition to private sector banks.
(2) Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines
Figure 3-8 is the historical data for Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and thePhilippines. In the absence of raw historical data, the charts were createdby computing data obtained from AsianBondsOnline and other relevant data
extracted from the statistics published by the individual countries’ central banks.
Corporate bonds are classified into bank debentures and other ordinary corporate
Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the significance of corporate bonds for both privatecompanies and state-run companies.

35

58

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

Figure 3-7 Bond outstanding in Thailand (as a percentage of GDP)

Source: Thai Bond Market Association “Thai Bond Market Directory”

bonds, but bonds issued by state-run companies that are presumably included insuch corporate bonds are not specified.
The historical data for these four nations also indicates a number of facts thatare not observable from the bird’s-eye view-like information shown in Figure 3-6.
Firstly, throughout the 2000s, the value of the total bonds outstanding in thosecountries either gained marginally (Korea), remained flat (Malaysia) or declined(Indonesia and the Philippines).
Secondly, corporate bonds in Indonesia and the Philippines stood at a levelalmost negligible as a percentage of total bonds outstanding (similar to Figure3-6). The figures for Korea and Malaysia, nations with a relatively large corporatebond market, were flat during the 2000s and did not exhibit any meaningful
growth.
Thirdly, both Korea and Malaysia experienced a significant increase in thevalue of total financial institutions bonds outstanding and the decline in the
total corporate bonds outstanding. This indicates that these two countries’ bondmarkets continued to develop during the period under review in a manner thatdiffered greatly from the expected development pattern, in which the bond market
performs the function of helping non-financial companies shift from bank loans tocorporate bond financing.

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

59Figure 3- 8 Bond outstanding in Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines(as a percentage of GDP)

Note: Bank debentures of Indonesia is derived from bond held in balance sheet of commercial banks.
Therefore, they do not contain non-bank ﬁnancial institutes.
Source: AsianBondsOnline (Local Source), Central banks of each country, commercial banks’ balance sheet

3.3.4 Composition of corporate bonds issued by private companies:
A classification by industrial sector and type of businessThis section examines corporate bond issuers in detail for the period where thenecessary data is available.
(1) Thailand
Figure 3-9 shows a table of the total corporate bonds outstanding in Thailand
at the end of 2007 by (i) type of business and (ii) industrial sector of issuers, andpoints to several tendencies.
Firstly, it shows, once again, that almost half, or 43.2%, of the total corporate
bonds outstanding were issued by state-run companies.
Secondly, most of the private company issuers were listed local Thai companies,
with an only fraction being foreign-owned companies. This means that local Thaicompanies represented a disproportionate part of the total corporate bond issuersin Thailand, given that a significant number of foreign-owned companies were
included in major Thailand-based companies, as seen in the preceding section (3.2).

60

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

Thirdly, by industrial sector, the non-manufacturing sector accounted for thehighest proportion, followed by the financial services sector and a relatively low
proportion represented by the manufacturing sector. That confirms the existenceof a significant gap among different industrial sectors in view of the fact that thereal economy’s growth has been driven by the manufacturing sector. It also points
to a notably high representation of the financial services sector in comparison to
the proportion of the sector’s added-value to the total.
Fourthly, a considerable proportion of the total corporate bond issuances bystate-run companies were undertaken by financial services sector companies, afact warranting attention.
Based upon a historical study of the raw data from Thailand, Figure 3-10 is thehistorical distribution of corporate bond issuing companies by industrial sector forthe period from 2003 to 2009. The data shown in this table demonstrates that thetrend identified in Figure 3-9 has been a relatively stable one, undergoing several
minor changes in the last few years.
Firstly, while still accounting for a low proportion of the total, themanufacturing sector showed a meaningful pickup in the share of the total

Figure 3-9 Thailand; Corp bond outstanding in each industr y type and company type(as of end-2007)

Note1: Industrial classiﬁcation is categorized as follows. Nonmanufacturing: Commerce, Energy & Utilities,
Information & Communication Technology, Media & Publishing, Property Development, Tourism & Leisure,Transportation & Logistics, Financial industry: Banking, Finance & Securities, Manufacturing: Agribusiness,
Automotive, Construction.
Note2: Below two unlisted and foreign owned companies are categorized as “Listed company”. Easy Buy Plc.
6,255 mil Baht, Aromatics (Thailand) Plc. 2,427.35 mil Baht.
Source: Thai Bond Market Association “Thai Bond Market 2008” p.364-p.373 (Appendix 1, List of ThaiBMA
Registered Bonds)

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

61Figure 3-10 Thailand; Corp bond outstanding in each industr y type
(historical data)

Note: Nonmanufacturing (Infrastructure) contains SPV
Source: Thai Bond Market Association “Thai Bond Market 2008” p.364-p.373 (Appendix 1,
List of ThaiBMA Registered Bonds)

corporate bonds outstanding in 2006 and 2007, before declining from 2008 onward
in the wake of the Lehman shock. It may indicate that the extent of the corporatebond issuer base had grown to include more Thai manufacturing sector companies
during the fast economic growth achieved by Thailand prior to the Lehman shock.
Secondly, although the proportion of non-manufacturing sector (i.e.
infrastructure development sector) companies to the total corporate bonds
outstanding had been extremely high in the past, their share started to decline
after peaking in 2005, showing signs, albeit moderate, of further declines after

62

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

the Lehman shock that occurred in autumn 2008.
Thirdly, the share by the financial services sector in the total corporate bonds
outstanding continued to erode gradually until 2007, followed by a period of asignificant pickup after the Lehman shock. Among the different subsectors of thefinancial services sector, such a trend was particularly notable for banks, which
emerged as the principal corporate bond issuer category within that sector.
(2) Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines
While the amount of raw data on Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are
fairly limited, it is possible to capture certain trends by examining the available
data. Figure 3-11 is a summary of the status of the three countries. Unlike thedata for Thailand, the data for these nations covers only corporate bonds issued
by private companies insufficient for specifying if the individual issuer is alisted or unlisted entity. As for the data for Malaysia, foreign-owned companies
accounted for a relatively high proportion of the total, so the data was compiled
for local Malaysian companies and foreign-owned companies separately.
The data for these nations points to the existence of a trend appeared in
Thailand to a degree. Firstly, a high proportion of the issuers in all of thesecountries was represented by non-manufacturing sector companies involved ininfrastructure development projects, and financial services sector companies.
In comparison to Thailand, a large share of the total was accounted for by thefinancial services sector in these three nations. In Indonesia in particular,
the financial services sector ’s share exceeded that of the non-manufacturingsector, including infrastructure development-related companies. In terms of the
proportion of the manufacturing sector to the total, the Philippines and Indonesia
were on par with Thailand, while Malaysia exhibited an extremely low proportion.
Secondly, in Malaysia, corporate bond issuances by foreign-owned companies
constituted 18.9% of the total, showing a high level of activity. Anothernotable feature is the fact that the issuers’ industries included both the nonmanufacturing industry and the financial services industry. Given that inIndonesia and the Philippines foreign-owned companies accounted for a negligible
portion of the total corporate bond issuances, the reasonably high share offoreign-owned companies in Malaysia should be noted as a feature unique to thenation. However, as distinguishing foreign-owned companies from local Malaysiancompanies is not easy, it will be necessary to scrutinize such a distinction more
carefully. The corporate bond issuance share by foreign-owned companies in
Malaysia in 2009 was due to an isolated large-sized bond issuance in that year by
an infrastructure development-related company (a telecommunications carrier).
When comparing the Philippines and Indonesia, where corporate bond market
size is relatively small, the number of issuers in the Philippines was extremely
small at 25 companies. In contrast, the number of issuers in Indonesia stood at

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

63105 companies, despite the low level of total corporate bonds outstanding . Suchhigh number of issuers rank the country at the top of the four ASEAN nations inthis respect, which implies that corporate bonds were issued by Indonesia-based
entities for the purpose of relatively small scale fundraising.

Figure 3-11 Malaysia, Indonesia and The Philippines;
Corp bond outstanding in each industr y type (historical data)

Note: Nonmanufacturing (Infrastructure) contains the following sector; Telecom, Electric power, Energy,
Water channel, Public Utilities, Toll road, Real estate, Construction.
Source: Malaysia Corporate Bond Handbook 2010, The Philippines Domestic Credit Rating Report 2010,
and Indonesian Bond Market Director 2006

64

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

3.3.5 Summary
While Asian countries’ bond markets achieved a certain growth throughout the
2000s, observations made in this subsection reveal that their growth was not
as stable as it appeared, making it necessary for the observer to keep certain
reservations in mind.
One point to note is the fairly limited extent of the growth of the overall Asianbond market. While the Korean bond market had grown steadily in the years
until 2007, market growth in Malaysia had remained flat until that year. The
real growth achieved by Thailand was rather limited, excluding the effect of asudden jump in the issuance of central bank bonds, which had presumably been
undertaken as part of the Thai central bank’s sterilization measure. Of note isthat in the years until 2007 the bond markets in Indonesia and the Philippines
had experienced contraction instead of growth. In the last few years since theLehman shock, the bond markets of Korea, Thailand and Indonesia have achieved
growth due to the increased issuance of government bonds resulting from the
expansion of their fiscal spending. Still, it remains to be seen if such growth is asustainable trend.
The extent of corporate bond market growth in the years until 2007 hadbeen extremely limited in the five-nation group observed, with the exception ofThailand. As for the relatively large corporate bond markets in countries like
Malaysia and Korea, they have been large since the very early part of the 2000s.
That said, since the Lehman shock, Thailand, Malaysia and Korea have recordeda growing number of corporate bond issuances. Another new feature that has
emerged in recent years is the rising proportion of financial institutions bonds tooverall corporate bonds in Korea and Malaysia.
Also revealed by the observations of this subsection was the existence ofdistinct characteristics in the composition of corporate bond issuers’ industrial
sectors and types of business. One point worthy of attention here is the fact that
it is not possible to fully understand whether bonds issued by state-run companies
are categorized as public bonds or corporate bonds in many of the statistics.
This subsection’s examination, based on the example of Thailand, revealed
that bonds issued by state-run companies have been classified in the past as
corporate bonds in many sets of compiled information, including information from
AsianBondsOnline, and that such state-run companies’ bonds account for a fairly
high proportion of the total corporate bonds (42% in 2007). With regard to thispoint, careful attention also needs to be paid to other nations’ data.
Individual Asian countries share common characteristics in the distribution
by corporate bond issuers among private companies. In each nation, a significant
portion of the total corporate bond issuers is non-manufacturing sector companies
involved in infrastructure development, which constitute the predominant issuer

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

65

category in many Asian countries. Separately, financial services companies,
including commercial banks, also are a major issuer category, with a high shareof the total issuances. In contrast, manufacturing companies are not active in
issuing corporate bonds.
Looking at the relationship between corporate bond issuers and ownership
type, (either local Asian or foreign-owned), along with company’s listing status(either listed or unlisted), it is possible to ascertain that listed local companies are
the principal issuer base in Thailand and Malaysia, the two markets examinable
in this subsection, with foreign-owned companies (typically not listed on local
stock exchanges) remaining inactive corporate bond issuers.
As discussed above, while having grown steadily, the East Asian bond market
has yet to reach a stage marked by stability or significant momentum towards
faster growth. Also notable in the East Asian bond market’s historical trajectoryis the fairly high degree of disparity that has existed among individual countries’
markets. In order to facilitate further growth of the Asian bond market, it will benecessary to enhance relevant systems while paying due attention to demand-side
structure and seeking to maintain a fundraiser-friendly market environment.

66

Structure of corporate funding needs and the bond market

4

Cross-border bond issuance andinternational bond investment

4.1 Current status of capital flows
4.1.1 Status of regional capital flow
This section examines the status of securities investment in East Asia, basedon data from the Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS) conductedby the IMF. The end-2009 total East Asian cross-border securities investments
outstanding (the total of long-term bonds and shares) by investors domiciledin eight East Asian countries/economies (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) accounted for 15.9% of
the total outstanding balance of global investments in East Asia. Long-termbond investments constituted 66.2% of such East Asian cross-border securities
investments. By way of comparison, the end-2001 share of the total outstandingbalance of global investments in East Asia was 9.1%, and long-term bondinvestments represented 76.2% of such East Asian cross border securities
investments. Given that long-term bonds accounted for 55.3% of total global
investments in 2001 and 59.8% in 2009, the above data points suggest theexistence of a strong safety-oriented attitude among investors domiciled in East
Asian nations.
The share of regional investments in the total long-term bond investments
by investors domiciled in these eight East Asian countries/economies has been
increasing, albeit gradually, accounting for 3.4% of the total in 2001, 2.8% in 2005,
3.8% in 2008 and 4.1% in 2009. This shows that while the East Asian bond market
during the same period has grown rapidly in size, driven mainly by government
bonds, it has been substantially outpaced by the expansion of regional crossborder investment. Given that investment in East Asia constituted 2.3% of thetotal global long-term bond investments outstanding in 2009, it is fair to saythat investors domiciled in East Asian nations are slightly more oriented toward
regional investment.
A country-by-country breakdown of total East Asian long-term bond investments
outstanding at the end of 2009 shows US$40,100 million from Singaporedomiciled investors (accounting for 33.2% of their total investments outstanding),
US$33,500 million from Hong Kong-domiciled investors (13.6% of the total),
US$21,200 million from Japan-domiciled investors (1.0% of the total) andUS$8,900 million from Thailand-domiciled investors (68.4% of the total). The highprofile of Hong Kong and Singapore is presumably due to their strategic positions

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

67

Figure 4-1 East Asian cross-border securities investments outstanding(long-term bonds)

Note1: “ ‥ ” means that outstanding is zero or less than 0.5 mil USD
Note2: “ ‥‥ ” means no dataNote3: “c” means that data is not disclosed
Source: IMF CPIS; compiled by DIR

as Asia’s international financial centers and bases for local and US/European
investors. In particular, in recent years as part of an effort to enhance its function
as an international financial center the Singapore government has been actively
seeking to attract foreign asset management companies to the country by relaxing
its capital regulations.
A look at year-on-year growth rates in total investments outstanding shows
25.9% for the East Asian region as a whole, with Thailand at 121.0%, Singapore
at 44.0% and Malaysia at 36.5%. As for Japan, its year-on-year growth rate wasnegligible at 0.8%. In the period from 2001 to 2009, the total regional cross-borderlong-term bond investments outstanding held by investors domiciled in East
Asian countries increased by 176% from US$39,300 million in 2001 to US$108,300
million in 2009. In the same period, notable growth was recorded by investors
in the region, with Hong Kong-domiciled investors expanding such regional
investments from US$14,600 million in 2001 to US$33,500 million in 2009,
Singapore-domiciled investors from US9,800 million to US$40,100 million, Japandomiciled investors from US$13,100 million to US$21,200 million, Thailanddomiciled investors from US$60 million to US$8,900 million and Malaysiadomiciled investors fromUS$140 million to US$2,460 million. In particular, during

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Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

Figure 4-2 East Asian cross-border securities investments outstanding(equities)

Note1: “ ‥ ” means that outstanding is zero or less than 0.5 mil USD
Note2: “ ‥‥” means no dataNote3: “c” means that data is not disclosed
Source: IMF CPIS; compiled by DIR

the same period, Thailand-domiciled investors started to actively invest in Koreanbonds, and their total Korean investments outstanding grew to US$8,300 million
at the end 2009, a gain achieved in the space of only two years, which represented
93% of their total regional investments outstanding due to the attraction ofsuch bonds’ high yields. The significant role played by intermediary institutionsin providing an investment vehicle to middle income Thai populations offers apotentially useful lesson for Japan.
Looking at the destinations for regional investment made in the period from2001 to end-2009, it is notable that China grew from US$3,100 million in 2001 to
US$10,400 million in 2009, with Korea rising from US$9,800 million to US$42,700
million and India from US$500 million to US$9,400 million in the same period.
A look at the historical long-term bond investment in East Asia by investors
domiciled in the US and the UK shows that the total investments outstanding
held by US-domiciled investors stood at US$59,300 million at end-2009, or 3.8%of their total investments outstanding (US$77,200 million at end-2008, or 6.2%of the total). Excluding their investments in Japan, their total East Asian longterm bond investments outstanding amounted to US$32,700 million, or 2.1% of

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment69

their total investments outstanding (US$37,500 million end-2008, or 3.0% of thetotal). Meanwhile, the total East Asian long-term bond investments outstanding
held by UK-domiciled investors at end-2009 amounted to US$115,900 million(6.4% of their total investments outstanding), placing the country at the top of theleague, above the US. In 2009, their total East Asian long-term bond investments
outstanding grew by a remarkable 65% from the previous year. Presumably, thisjump resulted from the 21% growth in UK-domiciled investors’ total investments
outstanding in 2009, rising bond prices due to Asian economies’ recovery fromthe financial crisis, and such investors’ fund allocation shift to Asia from bonds
issued by entities in certain EU nations with growing sovereign risks. East Asia,
excluding Japan, accounted for 4.8% of UK-domiciled investors’ total investments
outstanding at end-2009.
Shown next is an examination of equity investment in East Asia.

Figure 4-3 East Asian cross-border securities investments outstanding (equities)

as of end-2009 (provisional value)bil USD

Investment to Asia/ Total
cross-border investment

Increasingfrom 2008

Increasingfrom 2001

Hong Kong

152.3

30.5%

+45%

×11.7

Singapore

83.4

54.3%

+44%

×5.4

Japan

48.0

8.1%

+62%

×5.8

Korea

27.7

36.0%

+30%

×72.9

Malaysia

7.6

37.9%

+105%

×11.3

Source: IMF CPIS; compiled by DIR

The total outstanding balance of equity investments in East Asia as a wholegrew significantly from US$37,900 million at the end of 2001 to US$320,400
million at end-2009, an 8.5- fold increase. With regard to such investments heldby investors domiciled in East Asian countries/economies, Asia accounted for
10.6% of the total at end-2001 and 23.8% at end-2009, pointing to such investors’
increasing exposure to the region.

4.1.2 Investment from JapanAt the end of 2009, the total outstanding investments in East Asian long-termbonds held by Japan-domiciled investors stood at US$21,200 million, or 1.0% of
their foreign long-term bond portfolios. The total outstanding investments in East
Asian equities amounted to US$48,000 million, or 8.1% of their foreign equity

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Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

portfolios. Given that the end-2001 total outstanding investments in East Asianlong-term bonds stood at US$31,200 million, the gain in that period amounted to60%. At end-2001, East Asia accounted for 1.3% of their foreign long-term bondportfolios, while their total outstanding investments in East Asian equities stoodat US$8,300 million, or 3.2% of their foreign equity portfolios. On the other hand,at end-2009 investors domiciled in East Asian countries held a total of US$6,000
million in Japanese long-term bonds, or 2.8% of their foreign long-term bondportfolios. Their end-2009 Japanese equity holdings amounted to US$23,700
million, or 3.2% of their foreign equity portfolios. This shows that investors
domiciled in East Asian countries have a relatively limited exposure to Japanese
long-term bonds and equities in comparison to the size of the markets for these
Japanese instruments.
The total outstanding cross-border investments in long-term bonds heldby Japan-domiciled investors grew from US$1,004.9 billion at end-2001 to
US$2,224.8 billion at end-2009, a gain of 121% for the period. The proportion ofsuch investments in the US, Japan’s biggest investment destination, declined
slightly in the period from 34.6% to 30.6% of the total, while East Asia’s shareremained low at 1.3% at end-2001 and 1.0% at end-2009. Yet the total outstanding
investments in East Asian equities grew from US$227.4 billion at end-2001 to
US$594.1 billion at end-2009, an increase of 161%, with US equities showing a
relative decline in proportion, in the same period in which the total outstanding
investments rose from US$123.5 billion to US$230.3 billion. The share of East
Asian equity investments grew from 3.2% at end-2001 to 8.1% at end-2009.
The total outstanding investments in Japanese long-term bonds held by global
investors increased from US$169.3 billion at end-2001 to US$216.6 billion at
end-2009, a mere 28.0% gain in the period. Global investors’ holdings in Japaneseequities also showed very limited growth of 16.7% in the same period, risingfrom US$626.1 billion at end-2001 to US$730.6 billion at end-2009. This wasprobably due to the fact that, during the eight-year period, long-term interest
rates continued to remain at low levels in Japan due to the continued ultraloose monetary policy pursued by the nation’s central bank, while the Japaneseequity market underperformed other major bourses across the globe offering
little incentive to investors. The share of investment from East Asian nations in
the total outstanding investments in Japanese long-term bonds declined from
5.1% (US$8.7 billion) at end-2001 to 2.8% (US$6.0 billion) at end-2009. Looking
at regional investment by investors domiciled in East Asian countries, theirinvestment in Korea showed a significant increase in the same period, accounting
for a remarkable 44% of foreign investment in Korean long-term bonds. Notably,
investment from East Asian countries coupled with investment from the US and
UK represented as much as 70% of foreign investment in Korean long-term bondsin that period.

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

71

Figure 4- 4 The total outstanding investments in securities held by Japan- domiciled investors(currency proportion) (as of end-2009, provisional value)
mil USD
Currency

EquityLong-term bond

289,442 ( 48.7% )824,745 ( 37.1%)

EMU EUR

84,619 ( 14.7 )415,653 ( 18.7 )GBP49,294 ( 8.3 )47,284 ( 2.1 )JPY

45,427 ( 7.6 )

693,167 ( 31.2 )CHF

16,044 ( 2.7 )1,466 ( 0.1 )Others109,201 ( 18.4 )

242,440 (10.9 )Total

594,069 (100.0)

2,224,756 (100.0)

USD

Source: IMF CPIS; compiled by DIR

Looking at the currency breakdown of the total outstanding investments inlong-term bonds held by Japan-domiciled investors, the US dollar accounted for
37.1% of the total with the Japanese yen representing 31.2% and the Euro 18.7%,
pointing to a high proportion of yen-denominated bonds in Japanese investors’
portfolios. These top three currencies constituted 87% of the total.
Next, the distribution of long-term bond holders by investor type as of end of
2009, relating to the total outstanding cross-border securities investments, shows
31.3% by banks, 19.6% by insurance companies, 16.0% by mutual funds and 16.3%
by non-financial companies and retail investors. While the total outstanding
investments grew by 96% in the seven-year period from end-2002 to end-2009,
mutual funds expanded by a staggering 6.44 times. Yet the breakdown of the total
net asset value denominated in foreign currencies, published by the Investment
Trust Association, Japan, shows that the total outstanding investments in East
Asian bonds have not increased meaningfully, with funds investing mainly inbonds issued by entities in developed countries, including the US and European
nations (Figure 4-7).
Figure 4-5 The total outstanding investments in securities heldby Japan- domiciled investors (investors proportion)(long-term bonds) (mil USD, %)end-2002

end-2006

end-2009(previous value)Banks341,861 (30.1)

558,599 (30.8)

697,078 (31.3)

Insurance companies

228,212 (20.0)

356,280 (19.7)

436,748 (19.6)

55,316 (4.9)

252,310 (13.9)

217,790 (19.2)

325,315 (18.0)

366,087 (16.5)

46,925 (4.1)

6,390 (0.4)

5,095 (0.2)

Non-financial companies

245,420 (21.6)

313,149 (17.3)

363,122 (16.3)

Total

1,135,519 (100.0)

1,811,986 (100.0)

2,224,756 (100.0)

Mutual funds
Other financial companies
Government

Source: IMF CPIS; compiled by DIR

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Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

356,583 (16.0)

Figure 4- 6 Japan’s share of the total outstanding cross-border investments(Year-end, %)Equity
2001
China

5.9

2005
3.7

Long-term bond
2009
3.3

2001
16.0

2005

2009

4.2

3.3

Hong Kong

6.1

6.3

6.3

8.0

8.7

12.6

India

0.2

2.6

1.6

9.3

2.7

2.6

Indonesia

1.4

1.0

1.5

6.6

5.5

7.4

Korea

0.7

1.0

2.3

24.1

12.7

8.7

Malaysia

2.6

0.8

1.6

23.7

5.3

9.1

The Philippines

6.2

0.7

1.4

15.3

10.6

8.5

Singapore

2.6

3.2

5.9

7.0

8.9

13.8

Taiwan

1.0

1.2

1.9

4.1

0.7

0.2

Thailand

3.7

1.9

2.4

20.7

4.5

12.5

Vietnam

1.2

NA

0.9

29.7

1.8

2.2

Total

1.4

1.9

2.2

5.2

3.2

4.4

Source: IMF CPIS; compiled by DIR

Figure 4-7 Total foreign currency denominated net assets of mutual funds(currency proportion)

Source: The Investment Trusts Association, Japan; compiled by DIR

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

73

Japan’s share of the total outstanding cross-border investments in long-termbonds issued by individual East Asian nations, or Japan’s contribution (Figure4-6), shows a range from 0.2% to 13.8% at end-2009, including above-10%
contributions to Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand. Japan’s contribution to thewhole East Asian region in this respect stood at 4.4%, above the 2.2% for equities.
The US and the UK constituted significant fund suppliers to East Asia, with a
12.4% share held by the former and a 24.3% share by the latter at end-2009.
Excluding their investment in Japan, their shares were 6.9% and 18.2%,
respectively.

4.1.3 Challenges
As discussed above, Japanese investors have steadily increased their investment
in East Asian equities, in a move to seek to benefit from the fast growth ofthe economies in the region. On the other hand, Japan-domiciled investors’
investment in long-term bonds has accounted for only a limited portion of
their sizeable asset investment portfolio. Japanese pension funds continue tomaintain their conservative investment stance, and many investors pursue asimilar approach. Institutional investors also find it difficult to become active
risk takers, as they are subject to stringent internal investment criteria and are
obliged to obtain internal approval for higher-risk investment. While securities
companies, expected to act as an intermediary between investors and the market,
play an active role in providing intermediation services for East Asian equity
investment, they are not fully performing their intermediation function forinvestments in East Asian bonds. Currently, securities companies’ platform forobtaining investment information and doing research/analysis seems to be lessthan satisfactory. Institutional investors, with some exceptions, are not capableof obtaining the necessary information for investing in East Asian bonds. In the
coming years, such circumstances are expected to change.
Notably, initial indications are appearing that Japanese pension funds,
previously sticking to a conservative investment stance, will modify theirinvestment stance. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF),
overseeing the investment of public pension funds, will broaden the scope of
foreign equity investment to include stocks listed on exchanges in emerging
countries such as China and India by summer 2011 (the Nikkei newspaper,
October 11, 2010). Currently, the GPIF’s foreign equity investment is limited, asa rule, to stocks of companies in developed nations. As of end of June 2010, theGPIF has approximately US$1,400 billion (at \83 to the dollar) in assets undermanagement out of the total public pension funds of Japan, consisting of 67%
in domestic bonds, 11% in domestic equities, 8% in foreign bonds, 9% in foreign
equities and 5% in short-term assets. Japan’s total public pension benefit payouts
are expected to increase substantially from 2012 onward, with a growing numberof baby boomers starting to receive pension benefits. It appears that the GPIF

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Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

acknowledged the need to improve its investment returns by expanding the scopeof investment to include stocks of companies in fast-growing emerging economies,
even at the expense of slightly higher risk. Eventually, such move should havesome effect on their stance on bond investment. Given that phenomenally low
interest rates are likely to continue in Japan for the foreseeable future, theGPIF would find it inevitable, despite foreign exchange risks, to widen thescope of foreign bond investment and include emerging country bonds that offera relatively higher yield. While in recent years mutual funds investing in thebonds from Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Korea and Indonesia have become
increasingly popular among retail investors, the Japanese securities industry has
witnessed the launch of mutual funds dedicated to investment only in emerging
country corporate bonds, pointing to a gradual rise in retail investors’ risk
tolerance level. It is expected that cross-border investment in East Asian bonds
from Japan will grow in the coming years if, in addition to a change in pension
funds’ investment stance, the various existing impediments to cross-borderinvestment in East Asia are gradually removed. Other factors that will help
promote East Asian cross-border investment from Japan consist of the increased
risk tolerance level by investors, the availability of diverse products to meet theneeds of such investors (a case in point is Korean funds distributed among Thai
retail investors), the enhanced service platform of securities companies expectedto act as intermediaries, and improved information disclosure by bond issuers.

4.2 Current status of cross-border bond issuance
4.2.1 Characteristics of individual Asian nations and pattern classification
While the Asian bond market (excluding Japan) has grown significantly in recent
years, the bulk of the growth has come from the increasing number of bondissuances denominated in local Asian currencies in individual domestic markets(Figure 4-8). The extent of growth has been particularly significant in China andIndia, with countries like Korea also showing notable gains (Figure 4-9). Yet, asshown in Figure 4-8, the issuance of cross-border bonds (bonds issued in the Euro
market or bonds issued in a foreign currency) has still been limited.
Cross-border bonds are issued typically in a foreign currency in the Euro
market (offshore bond market). In terms of value, a significant part of the
primary market for foreign currency-denominated bonds within the Euro market
has been made up of bonds issued by entities domiciled in countries like Korea,
the Philippines and Hong Kong (Figure 4-10), while bonds issued in the issuer
country’s currency in the Euro market have been predominantly those by Hong
Kong-domiciled entities (Figure 4-11).

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

75

Figure 4- 8 Asian bond issuance markets (excluding Japan)

Note: International debt security market means the bonds issued by nonresident.
Source: Thomson Reuters; compiled by DIR

Bond issuances in the Asian primary bond market can be classified into threemain types, namely: (1) issuance in the issuer country’s currency in the country’s
market (non-cross-border issuance); (2) issuance in a foreign currency in the Euro
market (cross-border issuance); (3) balanced issuance incorporating the featuresof both of these issuance types (cross-border issuance). Issuances in China andIndia fall under type (1), with those in the Philippines and Indonesia being type (2),and those in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, type (3).
As will be explained in later sections, as a general rule, corporate bonds
constitute, in value terms, a relatively large proportion of the bonds issued in theissuer country’s currency in the country’s market, while a significant portion ofcross-border issuances is accounted for by quasi-sovereign bonds and financial
institutions bonds. What both the cross-border type and the non-cross-border typehave in common, as far as corporate bonds are concerned, is the large amount ofbonds are issued by infrastructure development-related entities, including energy
and power companies. On the other hand, the list of industrial sectors with active
bond issuance varies from one nation to another, indicating that bonds are being
issued in individual countries mainly by entities belonging to industrial sectors
boasting relatively high competitiveness.

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Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

Figure 4-9 Asian domestic markets in the issuer countr y’s currency(excluding Japan)

Note: Excluding international debt security market
Source: Thomson Reuters; compiled by DIR

Figure 4-10 Asian companies’ bond issuance in the Euro market
in foreign currency (excluding Japan)

Source: Thomson Reuters; compiled by DIR

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

77

Figure 4-11 Asian companies’ bond issuance in the Euro market
in the issuer countr y’s currency (excluding Japan)

Source: Thomson Reuters; compiled by DIR(1) Issuance in the issuer country’s currency in the country’s market
The primary bond markets in Asia are characterized by the existence of highly
diverse sets of issuance practices in each nation’s market resulting from thedifferent development stages of the individual countries as well as their different
historical backgrounds. Still, those markets can be broken down broadly into
three categories, with China (Figure 4-12), India, Taiwan and Thailand belonging
to the group mainly issuing bonds in the issuer country’s currency in the issuer’s
market. While Thailand issues cross-border bonds occasionally, the other nationsin this group are highly focused on issuance within their own domestic markets.
The sector-by-sector distribution of corporate bond issuances in China shows,in value terms, a high level of issuance by energy/power-related entities as well asof financial institutions bonds. However recently there has also been an increasein corporate bonds issuances by entities from the industrial sector (manufacturingsector) and basic materials sector (natural resources sector) (Figure 4-13). As for
India, while financial institutions bonds account for the bulk of bond issuances inthe domestic market, the nation has recently witnessed the first corporate bondissuances by energy, power and industrial sector entities. Looking at Taiwan, thecountry’s bond issuance volume has been running at low levels in the past few
years, despite the fact that during that period the proportion of ﬁnancial institutions
bonds (previously high) declined, while growing shares were instead represented bycorporate bonds issued by entities in the energy/power, basic materials (chemicals
and others) and technology sectors. Meanwhile, Thailand’s primary bond market

78

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

is marked by its low proportion of financial institutions bonds in comparison toother Asian nations’ bond markets, with a notable number of corporate bonds
having been issued from 2007 onward by entities belonging to the energy/power,
telecommunications and industrial sectors.

Figure 4-12 Bond issuance market in China (market and currency proportion)

Note: International debt security market means the bonds issued by nonresident.
Source: Thomson Reuters; compiled by DIR

Figure 4-13 Chinese company’s bond issuance in domestic market
in the issuer countr y’s currency (sector proportion)

Note: Excluding “Panda bond”, which is issued by nonresidential company
in Chinese market in RMB denominatedSource: Thomson Reuters; compiled by DIR

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

79

(2) Issuance in a foreign currency in the Euro market
The next group consists of bond issuers conducting issuance in a foreign
currency in the Euro market. This group is composed of the Philippines, Indonesia
and Vietnam.
Figure 4-14 shows, while the primary bond market in the Philippines ispredominantly made up of issuances in a foreign currency in the Euro market,
the bulk of such issuances are from the issuance of foreign currency-denominatedquasi-sovereign bonds made by the ADB (Figure 4-15). This is also the casein Vietnam, but its primary market is rather small in size. As for Indonesia,
issuances in the issuer country’s currency in the country’s market constitutea high proportion of the nation’s total bond issuances, in comparison to thePhilippines, but the bulk of them are accounted for by financial institutions
bonds, with corporate bonds representing only a small portion of the total.
Looking at Indonesia’s cross-border bond issuances (in a foreign currency in theEuro market), they comprise corporate bonds issued by companies in the energy/
power and basic materials (natural resources-related) sectors.
Another point to note regarding the Philippines’ domestic market is the fact
that, in addition to financial institutions bonds, corporate bonds are also issuedby companies including foodstuff and daily necessities makers and real estate
operators. The issuers of Indonesian corporate bonds also include food anddaily necessities producers and telecommunication companies, indicating that,generally, companies with high competitiveness in each country are expanding
their corporate bond issuances in their domestic markets.

Figure 4-14 Bond issuance market in the Philippines(market and currency proportion)

Note: International debt security market means the bonds issued by nonresident.
Source: Thomson Reuters; compiled by DIR

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Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

Figure 4-15 Philippines company’s bond issuance in the Euro market
in foreign currency (sector proportion)

Source: Thomson Reuters; compiled by DIR(3)Balanced issuance
The last group consists of issuers who issue bonds in the issuer country’s
currency or a foreign currency, and in the country’s own market or in the Euro
market in a relatively well-balanced manner. Included in this group are Hong
Kong, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and Korea. In particular, Hong Kong (Figure4-16) and Singapore are characterized by their frequent issuances in the Euro
market in value terms. On the other hand, Japanese, Malaysian and Korean
issuers tend to issue bonds in their respective domestic markets.
It is only Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan who issue meaningful amountsof bonds denominated in the issuer country’s currency in the Euro market.
Meanwhile, issuance in the Euro market by Malaysian and Korean entities
is undertaken disproportionately in foreign currencies. Such disparity among
nations is presumably attributable to a difference that exists in the usability ofeach country’s currencies for international transactions.
While Hong Kong-domiciled entities issue corporate bonds typically in aforeign currency in the Euro market (Figure 4-17), Singapore-domiciled entities,
like Japanese ones, issue corporate bonds mostly in the issuer country’s currency
in the domestic market. Malaysia has been experiencing a decline in the amountof corporate bond issuance, while seeing an increase in the issuance of financial
institutions bonds. In the case of Korea, mainly energy/power companies issue
corporate bonds in the domestic market as well as the Euro market . On the other
hand, industrial (manufacturing) companies also account for a relatively highproportion of the total corporate bond issuances in the domestic market.

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

81

Figure 4-16 Bond issusnce market in Hong Kong(market and currency proportion)

Note: International debt security market means the bonds issued by nonresident.
Source: Thomson Reuters; compiled by DIR

Figure 4-17 Hong Kong company’s bond issuance in the Euro market
in foreign currency (sector proportion)

Source: Thomson Reuters; compiled by DIR

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Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

4.2.2 Conclusion and insights
The current status shows that the Asian primary bond market has been growing
significantly in recent years, with individual countries’ domestic markets seeing
an increasing number of corporate bond issuances, in particular. Yet, to date,cross-border bond issuances by East Asian entities have been fairly limited.
Challenges surrounding cross-border bond issuance include the difficulty
experienced by foreign investors in obtaining information on individual Asianissuer companies, a limited availability of public information on such companies
and the generally small company size. It is perhaps for those reasons that crossborder bond issuances by East Asian entities mainly consist of quasi-sovereign
bonds and financial institutions bonds instead of corporate bonds. Also underlying
the situation is the seemingly established pattern of bond issuance, in which theissuer chooses overseas fundraising in the event of issuing quasi-sovereign bonds
and financial institutions bonds for obtaining a large amount of funds, while
opting for domestic fundraising in the case of issuing corporate bonds typicallyinvolving a smaller amount of funds. Such a pattern arises from the still limited
presence of powerful domestic institutional investors in individual Asian markets.
That said, depending on the issuer’s industrial sector and scale, the degree of
information asymmetry between the issuer and investors may become less serious
in time. For example, power and energy companies are the leading companies ineach Asian nation, and the promise of stable cash flow generation on a long-termbasis makes them entities with relatively high credit quality. Given this quality,
such power and energy companies will not find it difficult to issue corporate bonds
on a cross-border basis. As can be seen from the cases of Thai manufacturing(industrial) companies and technology companies based in Taiwan, entities
belonging to sectors with high competitiveness in a given nation tend to be active
bond issuers. Such entities may also be regarded as potential issuers of crossborder corporate bonds, given their solid footing.
One potential approach for promoting the issuance of cross-border corporate
bonds would be to encourage the above-mentioned sectors with less severe
information asymmetry to increase the issuance of corporate bonds, thereby
facilitating the step-by-step expansion of the entire cross-border bond market.
In addition, the further growth of Asian economies will be accompanied by the
emergence of companies of global quality like Samsung, a factor that has thepotential to gradually help mitigate the problem of information asymmetry,
which should lead to increased issuances of corporate bonds by entities in various
industrial sectors.

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment834.3 Current status of investors
In order to stimulate the Asian bond market, it will be important, with regard toinvestors, to: (1) expand investor base in different Asian countries, and (2) build
a platform for attracting foreign funds to individual Asian nations. With (2) being
covered by section 6.1, this section takes a bird’s-eye view of the current status
of investors in individual Asian countries, in relation to the effort mentioned in(1), while examining the challenges faced by such investors. The development ofinvestor base in each nation should be the one of the prerequisites for attracting
investment from foreign investors. Without expanding the investor base in eachcountry’s market, it will be hard to successfully attract funds from abroad.
In relations to institutional investors, here is a snapshot (albeit an old one, of
end-2004 data) of country-by-country institutional investor portfolio size (Figure4-18). Although the total value of institutional investor portfolios was high inHong Kong and Korea, it was less than one tenth the total value of assets held byJapanese institutional investors. The combined total of the eight Asian countries’
institutional assets was still less than one quarter of that of Japan, making it
desirable to expand the scale of institutional investors in individual Asian nations.
On the other hand, a look at institutional asset size as a percentage of GDP
reveals a slightly different picture, featuring Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia
as leaders by that measure. In particular, Hong Kong boasts institutional asset
size eclipsing that of Japan. As rising international financial centers, Hong Kongand Singapore continue to attract an inflow of foreign funds into mutual funds
there. In addition, Singapore and Malaysia now have large pension funds, asthese nations introduced pension systems as early as 1951 under the colonial ruleof the UK.

Figure 4-18 A snapshot of countr y-by- countr y institutional investor asset size
(end-2004)

Source: Dalla Ismail [2006]

84

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

On the other hand, the institutional investor portfolio size as a percentage ofGDP for China, Indonesia and the Philippines is small. For China and Indonesia,
the current challenge is to help grow the portfolio size by pension funds operatingin their domestic markets, a task that will need to be done by further developing
their respective pension systems. Meanwhile, the Philippines is faced with theissue of its life insurance and mutual fund assets being small, making it necessary
for the nation to invigorate those categories.
Figure 4-19 is the composition of investment in each individual country’s
government bonds, which serves to highlight the recent breakdown of each nation’s
institutional investors as well as the historical changes of their assets (albeit conﬁned
to government bonds).
What these countries have in common is that banks are acting as the main
institutional investors in each nation. Asian banks are not only key players incorporate fundraising, as seen in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, but have a high profile
as key investment players as well.
That said, and bearing in mind the differences between one country andanother, the historical changes from 2003 onward point to banks representinga smaller and smaller proportion of the total while pension funds, insurancecompanies and foreign investors are accounting for a growing portion of that
total. This shows that there has been an increasing diversification in investor
categories. A case in point is the apparent decline in banks’ share of the total in
Korea, Indonesia and Thailand. As for Malaysia, banks’ proportion of the total
has been increasing, suggesting the occurrence of a reversal of investor category
diversification. However, this fact is due to the erosion of pension funds’ share ingovernment bond investment at a time when such pension funds have continued

Figure 4-19 The composition of investors with investment in each individual countr y’s
government bonds

Source: AsianBondsOnline; compiled by DIR

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment85

to shift its investment focus to equity and corporate bond investments as well
as loans, all of which are instruments offering higher returns. Taking this into
account, such a share increase exhibited by Malaysia-based banks does notnecessarily represent a reversal of investor category diversification.
In the short time frame of the last two years or so, some banks presumably
shifted their investment to safer assets such as government bonds while avoiding
higher risk investment in consideration of the financial crisis. Still, given thelong-term developments that have occurred from 2003 onward, it is reasonable tosay that there is a general trend toward increased diversification in investor base,and this trend is expected to result in diverse investment behavior by different
types of investors, thereby helping enhance market liquidity.
As for pension funds and insurance companies, their proportion of the total
has been increasing, with the exception of Malaysia and China.36 Presumably thisis partly due to the growing portion of the productive age group (15 to 64 years)of the total population in every non-Japan Asian country (Figure 4-20). With the
productive age group’s proportion expected to increase more in coming years, suchcountries’ pension assets should grow further, supported by the upgrading of theirpension systems.
While the data available in each Asian nation is limited in scope, individuals’
financial assets are likely to increase further, driven partly by the rising
proportion of the productive age populations. From a perspective of diversificationof investor base, attracting such growing individual assets to the bond market
is of great significance. In the Philippines, it is a government policy to draw
individual assets to the bond market, and, on the back of the launch of retailbonds in 2001, the policymakers have been promoting government bondinvestment to individuals. In addition to this Japanese government bonds (JGBs)
designed for individual investors were introduced in Japan in 2003, in yet anothermove to focus on individual investors.
The next point to note is the relationship between investor category andinvestment period. Banks are unlikely to become investors with longer investment
time horizons, given that the bulk of their liabilities consist of short-term deposits
and their interest rate risk management policies based on ALM (Asset Liability
Management). Actually, in interviews conducted by the author of this report, someofficials of various Asian banks commented that, with ALM-based interest raterisk management gradually taking hold at their organizations, it will become
harder to buy bonds with long maturities in the coming years. On the other hand,

The significant decline in the pension funds’ proportion of the total in Malaysia, aphenomenon specific to that nation, is attributable not to declining pension assets but topension fund managers shifting pension assets from government bond investment to equity
and corporate bond investments as well as loans, all of which are instruments with higher
returns.

36

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Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

Figure 4-20 Demographics in Asia

Note: Circles mean the items having increased by 5%pt since 1997.
Source: World bank; compiled by DIR

pension funds are expected to show a stronger need for investment in bonds withlonger maturities, since their liabilities are considerably long-term (runningseveral tens of years).
In coming years, the securities industry should witness an increasing need forinvestment in bonds with long maturities due to structural changes in investor
composition — changes which involve the declining share of banks and the rising
share of pension funds, as well as the adoption by banks of ALM-based interest
rate risk management.
As seen in Chapter 2, Asian countries’ bonds have, as a rule, rather limited
liquidity, and bond investors generally employ a buy-and-hold strategy forbond investment. While the legitimacy of a buy-and-hold strategy itself is still
undeniable, to improve investment efficiency going forward, money managers
should increase the sophistication of their investment techniques by using a wide
range of investment vehicles.
Investment product diversification is an effective step towards enhancing
investment technique sophistication. Details of this are covered by Chapter 7,
but in summary, there are now high hopes for the spread of new products suchas an Asian corporate bond fund, a product composed of corporate bonds issued
by different Asian countries, and MTNs. Furthermore, at a time when industry
players are expected to meet investor needs for investment in bonds with long
maturities, industry experts should seriously discuss a bond-based scheme for
attracting funds to infrastructure development-related fundraisers. In particular,

Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

87

the importance of corporate bond funds was mentioned by bankers in various
Asian nations during locally-conducted interviews. To sum up, their rationale wasthat individual bond investment is not an efficient approach due to the small sizeof individual bond issuance in comparison to institutional investors’ fund size. It
is for that reason that cross-border corporate bond funds resembling the ABF3
must be created and that even single-country corporate bond funds will serve thehighly significant function of filling the gap between investors’ investment size
and individual corporate bonds’ issuance size.

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Cross-border bond issuance and international bond investment

5

Current status of Asian financial
cooperation

This chapter examines the current status of financial cooperation in the Asian
region. The objective of this chapter is to identify the status quo of Asian regional
cooperation to serve as the basis for the recommendations made in the following
chapters.
This chapter outlines the regional financial cooperation currently underway
among members of ASEAN+3, EMEAP, APEC and ASEAN. While the former
three groups’ cooperation mainly involves the bond market, initiatives by APEC
are not necessarily linked with actual policy implementation, so the author will
touch on them only briefly. As for ASEAN, the goal of its activity is to achieve theintegration of its member countries’ equity markets.

5.1 The ASEAN+3
5.1.1 The Chiang Mai Initiative
The regional financial cooperation by members of ASEAN+3 consists of: (1)domestic financial system enhancement; (2) the enhancement of the emergency
liquidity assistance framework; and (3) policy dialogues and surveillance
reinforcement. While the category relevant to bond market enhancement is (1),the discussion in this chapter refers to issues relating to (2) and (3) as well, since
all three types of cooperation are important for promoting regional financial
integration in East Asia. While foreign exchange policy coordination is an area
where no progress has yet been made by nations in the region, it is also briefly
covered by this chapter.
The Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) signed in May 2000 constitutes a frameworkfor providing emergency liquidity assistance. In May 2009, CMI members
reached a specific agreement on the multilateralisation of the framework (CMIM:
Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation). Prior to the CMIM, in addition to a
multilateral currency swap arrangement totaling US$2,000 million among ASEAN
members, CMI had been a scheme allowing individual Asian member countries
to sign bilateral swap and repo arrangements. As a result of the May 2009agreement, funds totaling US$120 billion were contributed by respective members
under a single contract, enabling each member country to receive assistancewithin a maximum amount based on “the member state’s contribution multiplied

Current status of Asian financial cooperation89

by its respective borrowing multiplier” (Figure 5-1). While the initiative’s
objective remained the same, namely, (1) the addressing of short-term liquidity
challenges in the region and (2) the supplementing of the existing internationalframework, its fund, a total of US$81,000 million in real terms (as of April 2009),
was increased by approximately 1.5 times. In addition, meaningful improvement
was made with regard to the drawbacks of bilateral arrangements, namely, thepotential difficulty in securing flexible enforcement and the diversity of maximum
borrowing amounts in each arrangement.37

Figure 5-1 CMIM contributions and purchasing multiples(bil USD)Country

Financial
contribution

Purchasing
Multiple

China (*)

38.4000.5

Japan38.4000.5

Korea

19.200

1.0

Indonesia

4.552

2.5

Malaysia

4.552

2.5

Singapore

4.552

2.5

Thailand

4.552

2.5

Philippines

4.552

2.5

Vietnam

1.000

5.0

Cambodia

0.120

5.0

Myanmar

0.060

5.0

Brunei0.030

5.0

Lao PDR

0.030

5.0

Total

120.000-

Note: China includes Hong Kong’s contribution (4.2 bil USD). Hong Kong’spurchasing is limited to IMF de-linked portion (4.2×2.5×20%), while it’spurchasing multiple is 2.5, because Hong Kong is not a member of the IMF,
and has no IMF program-linked purchasing.
Source: The Joint Ministerial Statement of The 13th ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers’Meeting, 2 May 2010

It is essential to have a surveillance mechanism for CMIM. Generally
speaking, the occurrence of moral hazard is a serious challenge with regard to theprovision of short-term liquidity assistance. If a developing nation is to be allowed
to easily obtain assistance in the event of a liquidity crisis, such assistancerecipient nation’s government may not implement an appropriate macroeconomic
policy for averting such a crisis and overseas investors may make excessive
investment in the country. In order to prevent such a scenario from occurring, it
will be necessary to enhance the surveillance structure of the assistance system
The CMIM went into effect on March 24, 2010. While the liquidity assistance period isessentially 90 days, up to seven extensions are allowed (approximately two years in total).

37

90

Current status of Asian financial cooperation

to monitor each member’s economic and financial situation and provide advice
when required. Preferably, such advice should have a certain degree of binding
power and it will be crucial, when offering liquidity assistance, to ensure theappropriateness of the terms and conditions of such assistance.
At the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Meeting (AFMM+3) held in May 2006,
it was agreed that regional economic surveillance should be integrated into theframework of the CMI for the purpose of strengthening it further. In addition,in May 2009 Asian nations agreed to establish an independent body designed
to monitor and analyze the regional economy at an early date, with the aim ofassisting the CMIM’s decision-making process, along with an advisory groupcomposed of experts charged with the task of preparing for the establishment of
the independent body. The joint statement of the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers
Meeting held in May 2010 also announced a plan to set up an independent
regional surveillance unit designed to assist the CMIM (AMRO: ASEAN+3
Macroeconomic Surveillance Office) in Singapore by early 2011.
Besides the CMIM, various currency swap arrangements have been signed
by Asian nations. The accords concluded after the Lehman shock include: (1)the US$30 billion swap arrangement reached between Korea/Singapore and the
US Federal Reserve Board; (2) the yen swap worth 6,000 billion yen proposed
by Japan to other Asian countries; (3) the RMB swap worth RMB 650 billion
signed between China and a group of countries consisting of Korea, Hong Kong,
Malaysia, Belarus, Indonesia and Argentina. Under such circumstances, it isessential to improve the accessibility to the CMIM which allows member states todraw only up to 20% of the maximum borrowing amount without a program with
the IMF. Such improvement will require the enhancement of surveillance basedon member nations’ increased willingness for cooperation.

5.1.2 Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI)
The ABMI was established in 2003, initially consisting of six working groups, withthe primary objective of expanding the bond issuer base, diversifying issuancecurrency and building a better market infrastructure. Outlined below are themain achievements made subsequently by each working group.
(1) Development of new types of collateralized debt obligation
Firstly, the issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) was promoted in various
Asian nations, while in Thailand bonds were issued by the local subsidiaries
of multinational companies. Secondly, the Malaysian and Thai governments
instituted the exemption of withholding taxes for foreign investors. Thirdly,
the yen-denominated cross-border CBO (Collateralized Bond Obligation) was
issued, using bonds issued by small- to medium-sized Korean companies as theunderlying asset. Fourthly, the issuance of currency basket-denominated bonds

Current status of Asian financial cooperation91

was discussed, although that development has yet to materialize.
Challenges for the future include the expansion of the issuance of bonds
related to infrastructure development and the promotion of MTN (Medium TermNote) issuance.
(2) Credit guarantee and investment mechanism
In May 2009, an agreement was reached on establishing the Credit Guarantee
and Investment Facility (CGIF), an organization designed to provide guarantees
to local currency-denominated corporate bonds issued in different Asian countries.
The CGIF was set up with initial funds of US$700 million, representing the
Asian Development Bank’s trust funds, with potential increases envisaged tofacilitate the future demand. Subsequently, a working-level discussion developedon subjects such as the specific scope of operations, the method of guarantee
provision, and the maximum guarantee amount for each nation involved,
culminating in the holding of the first general meeting on November 25, 2010 in
Xi’an, China. Headquartered in Manila, the Philippines, the CGIF will provide
guarantees on bonds with credit ratings of BBB or equivalent/better, assigned
domestically in each country. The US$700 million pool of contributions comprise
US$200 million each from China and Japan (the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation), US$100 million from Korea, US$70 million from ASEAN and
US$130 million from the ADB.
Given that Asia’s challenge in expanding its bond markets is faced with low
issuer credit quality, coupled with the virtual absence of a high yield or junk bondmarket, credit guarantees will serve as an effective approach for overcoming suchhurdles. That said, due to the potential occurrence of moral hazard in the issuer,
special consideration must be given to the implementation, including the policy ofoffering such credit guarantees essentially as a temporary relief. It is the CGIF’s
obligation to carefully examine its operations to maintain their soundness.
(3) Foreign exchange transaction and settlement system
With regard to a foreign exchange transaction and settlement system, a study
has been underway on the regional linking of clearing and settlement systems
across the East Asian region. One result of such efforts is the 2005 release of thereport on barriers to cross-border bond transactions, thanks to Bank of Japan andBank Negara Malaysia. In addition, in April 2010 another report was publishedon these subjects (covered by (2) of 5.1.3).

(4) Issuance of local currency-denominated bonds by international development
financial institutions
From 2004 onward, an initial effort to issue a series of Asian currencydenominated bonds has been made by international institutions, including
the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the International FinanceCorporation (IFC). Among them was the Thai Baht-denominated bonds issued in

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Current status of Asian financial cooperation

September 2005 by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (3,000 million
baht, initial maturity five years) whose proceeds were provided to a Thailandbased Japanese-owned companies in the form of two-step loans through Japanesebanks’ Bangkok branch.
The issuance of bonds by an international institution facilitates improved
issuer category diversification and market liquidity as well as the provision of
new products to investors, while potentially helping promote increased bondissuance by other non-residents.
The second development connected to the issuance of Asian currencydenominated bonds by international institutions was the Asian Development
Bank’s September 2006 announcement that it would introduce the Asian Currency
Note Program, totaling US$10 billion, in the Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia andThailand markets. This program was designed to enable each country’s issuer toissue bonds flexibly, in a market-timely manner, under a framework compliant
with UK laws. The Asian Currency Note Program is anticipated to help promoteincreased regulation harmonization among different Asian nations.
While Thailand has not participated in the program, the list of program
members was expanded to include the Philippines and Taiwan in April 2009,
resulting in the current membership totaling five countries. However, to date,
only Singapore dollar-denominated and Hong Kong dollar-denominated bonds
have been issued under the program, making it necessary to conduct issuance inother nations as soon as possible.
(5) Development of regional credit rating agencies and information
dissemination
Firstly, industry experts have been providing training designed to help Asian
nations’ credit rating agencies improve their skills, while conducting research on
the enhancement of credit rating harmonization. In December 2008 the Handbook
on International Best Practices in Credit Rating was published, a document
outlining standards that should be applied in the credit rating business.
In order to grow cross-border bond transactions, it will be essential to ensure
the development of local credit rating agencies, and also to standardize credit
rating methodologies. Based on such a philosophy, the Association of Credit
Rating Agencies in Asia (ACRAA) was established in 2001 with the objectiveof strengthening the cooperation framework among various East Asian credit
rating agencies (details have been covered earlier in Chapter 2).
The ACRAA has been making increasing efforts to help improve the qualityof credit rating in the region, through the hosting of seminars and workshops.
Although it is quite challenging to enhance regional credit rating harmonization,
experts are trying to lay the groundwork towards this goal.

Current status of Asian financial cooperation

93While international credit rating agencies assign global scale credit ratings
based on a rating universe composed of companies around the world, ratings by
Asian credit rating agencies assign based on the basis of a national scalethat limits the scope of the credit rating universe to companies within theagency’s domestic country. Under the global scale-based method (that factors
in each nation’s sovereign risk), the credit rating of an issuer domiciled ina developing country with low sovereign credit rating is lower than thatassigned under the national scale-based method.
Credit rating methodology standardization should be implemented byestablishing a regional scale that will replace such a national scale. Yet for thatto materialize, industry experts must enhance the harmonization of individual
Asian countries’ accounting and auditing standards and information disclosure
standards, which constitute the basis for credit rating — a task not achievable ina short period of time.
One alternative step would be to set up a regional credit rating agency thatwill assess risk under the regional scale-based method. Still, that will involve
solving the question of how to define the segregation of duties between such a new
credit rating agency and other existing agencies.
Secondly, in May 2004 the Asian Bonds Online website was started as a vehicle
for disseminating information. Providing a wide range of information and data
relating to the Asian bond market, the website’s content has been improving
steadily. Moreover, the Asia Bond Monitor is being published on a quarterly basis,
allowing industry professionals to identify the general condition of each Asian
country’s bond market and the development of government policies in each nation.
(6) Technical assistance
Since its launch, the ABMI has continued to host various events, including
technical assistance programs and seminars, designed to help develop each Asian
country’s bond market.
(7) Historical changes in the operational platform
In May 2005, the ABMI roadmap was created, and based on the roadmap,
working groups were reorganized and the following new challenges were specified:(1) the issuance of currency basket-denominated bonds; (2) self-assessment oneach member state’s market development measures; and (3) discussion of the
Asian Bond Standards.
In addition, for the purpose of making the ABMI’s efforts more far-reaching, a
new roadmap was established in May 2008, consolidating operational challenges
into four categories (the increased bond supply, the growing demand for bonds,
regulatory framework improvement, and relevant market infrastructuredevelopment) (Figure 5-2). Included in the new roadmap were the following

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Current status of Asian financial cooperation

important future challenges: (1) the issuance of currency basket-denominatedbonds; (2) the increased issuance of infrastructure development-related bonds; (3)the promotion of MTN issuance; (4) the linking of clearing and settlement systems
across the East Asian region and the elimination of impediments for crossborder transactions; (5) the enhanced implementation of the Asian Currency Note
Program; and (6) the Asian Bond Standards. Out of these items, points (3) and (5)have already been carried out, but it will be necessary to continue to follow thisroadmap in promoting bond market development in coming years.

Figure 5-2 ASEAN+3 NEW ABMI Roadmap

Task Force 1: Promoting the Issuance of Local Currency-DenominatedBonds (supply-side)1) Credit guarantee and investment mechanism (i)2) Promotion of Asian Currency Note Programme (i)3) Promoting issuance of structured finance instrumentsa) Debt instruments for infrastructure financing (i)b) Securitized instruments (ii)c) Regional basket currency bonds (iii)4) Development of derivatives and swap markets (ii)5) Promotion of Underwriters in the Region (ii)

Task Force 2: Facilitating the demand for Local Currency-DenominatedBonds (demand-side)1) Development of an investment environment for institutional investors (i)2) Development of an investment environment for individual investors (ii)3) Development of repo and securities borrowing and lending (SBL) markets (ii)
4) Enhancing cross-border transactionsa) Regulations on capital movement and foreign exchange transactions (iii)b) Taxation system for nonresidents (iii)5) Disseminating the efforts under the ABMI to institutional investors in the
ASEAN+3 countries (i)Task Force 3: Improving the Regulatory Framework
1) Strengthening the regulatory and supervisory framework for bond marketsa) Promoting application of the IOSCO principles for securities regulations (i)b) Promoting a transparent and conducive legal and regulatory framework forbond issuance, listing and disclosure rules (ii)c) Capacity building for regulators/supervisors (i)2) Facilitating collaboration among securities dealers associations and selfregulatory organizationsa) Promoting cooperation among regulatory/supervisory authorities as well as
securities dealers associations and self-regulatory organizations in the region (i)Current status of Asian financial cooperation

95b) Promoting conducive standards and practices related to the present study“Asian Bond Standards” (ii)3) Improving bankruptcy procedures related to bond transactions (iii)4) Promoting application of accounting and auditing standards consistent withinternational standards (ii)

Task Force 4: Improving the Related Infrastructure for the Bond Markets
1) Infrastructure for securities settlementa) Promoting application of the CPSS/IOSCO recommendations (i)b) Facilitating discussion by private sector participants (i)2) Increasing liquidity of bond marketsa) Disseminating and enhancing a primary dealer system for the government
bonds (i)b) Developing and maintaining a benchmark yield curve (i)c) Improving trading platform (ii)d) Developing/Enhancing information dissemination system for secondary bondmarkets (iii)3) Fostering credit culturea) Assessing and developing the existing data related to local currencydenominated bond markets (ii)b) Development of a credit risk database (ii)c) Enhancing the credibility and visibility of local credit rating agencies (ii)4) Developing professional services such as financial analysts (ii)Note: (i), (ii), (iii) mean priority order to work on.
Source: ASEAN+3 NEW ABMI Roadmap

5.1.3 The ABMI’s promotion of cross-border bond transactions(1)Discussion on the Asian Bond Standards
The basic concept of the Asian Bond Standards proposed at the ABMI in 2005
is as follows. “Bond issuers in East Asia may potentially issue bonds in: (1) theissuer country’s bond market; (2) the bond market of another Asian country(that permits issuance by non-residents); (3) the Euro bond market. The ideal
approach would be to create a regional bond market by achieving a high levelof development of each country’s market that is opened to foreign issuers andinvestors, and then ensure regulatory harmonization among different Asian
nations. However, as the degree of market development varies from one nation toanother, this approach is time-consuming. Subsequently, we should seek to build
a new international bond market in the region, coupled with bottom-up approachwith developing each country’s bond market.”
While the progress towards this initiative is slow, the promotion of crossborder transactions has been identified as the significant task on manyoccasions, with the joint statement of the May 2010 ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers

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Current status of Asian financial cooperation

Meeting saying “From the perspective of channeling regional savings to regional
investment, it is necessary to promote cross-border transactions, and discussion
on methods for doing so will be conducted in a systematic manner.”In the ABMI Task Force 3 (strengthening the regulatory framework), a
proposal was made to discuss methods for ensuring harmonization among
different bond markets in the region, the integration of those markets, and theestablishment of a private placement bond market designed for institutional
investors in the form of an international bond market (offshore market). The
proposal was made after establishing an organization named the ASEAN+3 Bond
Market Forum (ABMF) , which is comprised of regulatory/supervisory authorities
and self-regulatory organizations in the region. The ideas behind this proposal is
the same as those of the Asian Bond Standards, namely, that a top-down approachis easier than a bottom-up approach, and that standardization is easier thanharmonization.
That said, controversy remains as to whether the building and expanding ofa private placement bond market for institutional investors now is a priority
agenda in Asia, where the institutional investor base is still underdeveloped andthe market has yet to reach an advanced stage of growth. While the removalof impediments to cross-border transactions is a prerequisite for creating aninternational bond market, further progress needs to be made in the liberalizationof capital flow and foreign exchange restrictions, particularly at a time whenmany Asian currencies have not yet been internationalized. Therefore, thefirst step would be to issue, in a country with a fully developed market, bonds
denominated in a currency with a reasonable level of usability for internationaltransactions.
(2) Efforts to address barriers to cross-border investment and settlement
In the Task Force 4 of the ABMI (improvement of bond market infrastructure),
private sector experts (GOE: Group of Experts) conducted a study on ways toestablish the Regional Settlement Intermediary (RSI) and on barriers to crossborder bond investment and settlement, which resulted in the release of a final
report in April 2010. The report consists of three chapters, with the first chapter
titled “Cost Estimation for Regional Cross-Border Bond Transactions,” thesecond chapter “Feasibility Study on the Establishing of a Regional Settlement
Intermediary” and the third chapter “Analysis and Recommendations on Barriers
to Cross-Border Bond Investment and Settlement.”
The first chapter provided a survey of transaction and custody fees paid toglobal custodians associated with regional cross-border bond transactions, andconcluded that such fees were more expensive compared to Europe or in theUS, with a significant disparity being shown among individual Asian nations.
According to the chapter, these were attributable to the levels of custodian
services, the general efficiency levels of individual markets, and the existence ofregulations that differ from one country to another.

Current status of Asian financial cooperation

97

Figure 5-3 Barriers to cross-border investment and settlement(Regulatory barriers)
1 Foreign investor quota
2 Foreign investor registration
3 Currency exchange controls
4 Cash controls-credit balances, overdrafts
5 Tax
6 Omnibus accounts
7 Regulatory framework
8 Legal framework(Settlement barriers)
1 Messaging standards
2 Securities numbering
3 Settlement cycle
4 Trade and settlement matching
5 Physical certificates
Source: Asian Development Bank [2010]

Meanwhile, the second chapter examined options consisting of: (1) the AsianICSD (Asian-version Euroclear); (2) the CSD Linkage (the linking of different
countries’ settlement institutions; and (3) status quo maintenance (use of global
custodians’ services). However, given the cost-related challenges involved in
options (1) and (2), the report concluded that a continued feasibility studies werenecessary38. The feasibility studies conducted were an Operational FS (the studyof the scope of service provision and the resultant benefits), a Legal FS (theidentification of obstacles relating to laws and regulations) and a Business FS (thestudy of cost factors).

Settlement methods for cross-border bond transactions can be broken down into thefollowing: (1) settlement through individual countries’ local custodians; (2) settlement throughan international commercial bank called a global custodian (and individual countries’ local
custodians); (3) settlement through an ICSD (International Central Securities Depository)
such as Euroclear or Clearstream; and (4) settlement using an NCSD that is linked withanother country’s NCSD and/or ICSD.
For bond transactions in East Asia, usually method (2) is employed. Global custodian
services are user-friendly for investors, enabling the settlement of bond transactions involving
multiple countries. Method (1) is too complicated to be realistic, and method (3) can only be
employed in certain Asian nations due to obstacles posed by each country’s various trading
regulations. Even in nations where an ICSD can be used, transactions are sometimes notcompleted until the next business day because of time zone differences. Method (4) is desirable
if only such linking is achievable, but currently there exists virtually no linkage amongindividual NCSDs in each country. While linking different settlement systems in different
development stages is technically challenging, it will be also essential to ensure harmonizationof individual nations’ laws and regulations.

38

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Current status of Asian financial cooperation

Acting as an independent organization (a type of commercial bank), the ICSD
will provide short-term credit as well as foreign exchange services, thus enjoying
a reduction in various risks. However, inevitably there will be an overlap of
operations with existing NCSDs. In addition, it is time-consuming to decide on thelocation and the establishment cost of an ICSD will be greater than that of NCSD
connection. As for NCSD connection, it will be necessary to ensure harmonization
among different NCSDs with regard to technical infrastructure and the scope ofservice provision.
Either way, it will be essential to eliminate obstacles relating to laws andregulations (e.g. restrictions on the opening of omnibus accounts [joint accounts
by multiple market participants]), without which the integration of settlement
systems will not materialize. In addition, cost factors will be heavily dependent on
the actual growth of the bond market and cross-border transactions.
The second chapter stated that future feasibility studies would be conductedby members of the ABMI’s task force who had an actual interest in the integrationof settlement systems.
The third chapter focused its attention mainly on laws and regulations thatcan be considered as barriers to cross-border investment, and presented eight
regulation-related items as well as five settlement-related items (Figure 5-3).
The chapter said that it would be necessary to enable smooth settlement (STP:
Straight-through Processing) by having international standards adopted by
East Asian countries within a period of five years, based on the understandingthat regulatory barriers need to be addressed mainly by the governments, withsettlement barriers tackled mainly by the private sector.
As part of its investigation on the barriers shown above, the GOE has surveyed
market participants (market surveys and market interviews) while conducting
internal studies (market profile), and, following an assessment of the findings
obtained (market assessment), the group has issued recommendations foreliminating such barriers.
The GOE’s specific recommendations included: (1) the setting up of a neworganization charged with the task of eliminating such barriers and ensuring
collaboration between regulatory/supervisory authorities and market participants;(2) the need for regulatory/supervisory authorities to devise a barrier elimination
roadmap while continuing their market assessment activities; (3) the need for
the Asian Development Bank, regulatory/supervisory authorities and securities
industry associations to fulfill their responsibilities for addressing perception gap(i.e. the failure to fully communicate to market participants the relaxation of aregulation).
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following were presented. (1) (2) Investment amount allocation and mandatory
registration for foreign investors: while investment amount allocation is notcommon for bond investment, mandatory registration is currently in force in
China, Korea and Vietnam. It will be necessary to speed up the registration
process while defining registration-related regulations and ensuring increasedtransparency for such regulations. (3) Foreign exchange regulations: withregard to numerous regulations currently in force, it will be necessary to ensure
increased regulatory transparency, reduce the burden for investors subject toregulations, and develop hedging vehicles. (4) Regulations on cash surplus/
shortfall adjustment: while restrictions are in force in different countries, itwill be essential to ensure increased regulatory transparency while relaxing
the regulations. (5) Tax system: in addition to the burden of withholding taxes
negatively affecting investment returns, the complicated tax system is adding to
the burden on investors. Enhancement of the transparency level of the tax system
is necessary to make the system less complicated and help reduce the relevant
administrative burden on investors. The dematerialization of tax procedures isalso desirable, and the abolition of withholding taxes for non-residents should be
discussed. (6) Omnibus accounts: as the current restrictions in China and Korea
concerning the use of omnibus accounts by non-residents are causing high levelof settlement processing costs in those countries, it will be necessary to relax therestrictions and increase the transparency level of the regulations. (7) Regulatory
framework: since the risk of regulations being changed in an undesirable mannerconstitutes an obstacle, any change in regulations must be made after ensuring
increased regulatory transparency, defining long-term policy and paying utmost
care to the effects of such change. (8) Legal framework: it will be essential tosecure settlement finality (transaction irreversibility) and improve bankruptcy
laws.
Stressed in the above is the need to ensure increased regulatory transparency,
fully communicate to overseas investors, simplify procedures as much as
possible for the sake of trade participant’s convenience, and define long-term
policy objectives. While the concept of harmonization is not mentioned in theabove recommendations, if each member country moves in the direction desired,increased harmonization should naturally result.
The following additional recommendations were made by the GOE with regard
to obstacles to settlement. (1) Messaging standards: within the next five years (byend-March 2015), the individual countries of the ASEAN+3 should adopt the ISO
format, since the failure to use international standard formats such as ISO 20022
will result in increased translation burden and risk. (2) Securities numbering:
it will be desirable to ensure that the ISIN Code, the international standard, isbeing used as the general standard in each Asian nation’s domestic market. (3)Settlement cycle: the standard settlement cycle is T plus one business day forgovernment bonds, and T plus two or three business days for corporate bonds andequities. It will be necessary to enable settlement at least on a T plus two or T

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plus three business day-basis. (4) Trade matching (post-trade matching between
counterparties and pre-settlement matching between custodians): it will beessential to introduce automation and dematerialization to the extent possible, forthe purpose of shortening the settlement cycle and reducing errors. (5) Physicalcertificates: it will be desirable to abolish physical certificates within the next
three years.
(3) Establishment of the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum (ABMF)
Based on the achievements described above, the launch of the technicalworking group relating to regional settlement intermediary was affirmed by thejoint statement of the May 2010 ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Meeting, which
also approved the establishment of the ABMF, a move undertaken perhaps also
in consideration of the report by Task Force 4 that had stated that a coordinating
body should be set up to promote the elimination of barriers to cross-bordertransactions.
It was decided to set up two sub-forums for the time being. Sub-Forum 1
was designed to help reduce barriers to cross-border investment by filling theinformation-related perception gap, and the members agreed to gather andcompile information relating to individual Asian countries’ regulations, market
structure and accepted market practices, while posting the outline of suchinformation on the Asian Bonds Online website. On the other hand, Sub-Forum 2
was intended to help lower cross-border transaction costs by facilitating increased
levels of settlement efficiency. Accordingly, Sub-Forum 2 decided to seek enhanced
messaging standardization following a detailed examination of the current statusof the settlement process in each Asian nation.
In coming years, active discussion is expected to take place among many
private sector market participants. If private sector opinions come to be fullyreflected in the initiative to develop the bond market, which has previously been amore or less a public sector-driven effort, they should contribute to an accelerated
market expansion.

5.2 Executives' Meeting of East Asia Pacific Central Banks (EMEAP)
The EMEAP’s initiative to set up the Asian Bond Fund (ABF) was comparable
to the ABMI in significance. The ABF is a bond fund allowing the central banksof eleven member countries/economies (Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand)
to invest part of their foreign reserves in Asian bonds. Consisting of ABF1
(announced in June 2003) and ABF2 (announced in December 2004), the ABF is apassive bond mutual fund that invests in government bonds (sovereign bonds) andgovernment agency bonds (quasi-sovereign bonds) issued by eight of the member

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nations/economies, excluding Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
The size of the fund is approximately US$1,000 million and it is expected toinvest in US dollar-denominated bonds issued by Asian countries’ governments
and government agencies in the international bond markets, the ABF1’s primaryobjective was to accumulate investment experience.
On the other hand, the ABF2 is a fund that invests in local Asian currencydenominated bonds with the objective of actively contributing to the developmentof the Asian bond market. The ABF2 is composed of the Pan Asia Index Fund (PAIF,
denominated in US dollars, initial issuance size approx. US$1,000 million), thatinvests in bonds issued by eight countries/territories in the cross-border market,
and the funds in individual member countries (total initial issuance size of
US$1,000 million). A special feature of the ABF2 is the fact that, unlike the ABF1,
it has opened the door to private sector fund manager to while allowing private
sector entities to invest in the fund and decide on its benchmark index.
The ABF2 is a passive open-ended exchange-listed fund type was chosenbecause of the benefits such as low fund administrative cost, the wide scopeof investors to which the fund can be marketed, and superior fund liquidity.
Singapore was selected as the domicile for the PAIF’s launch due to its tax
treaties with the individual nations involved, while Hong Kong was chosen as thelisting location due to the high liquidity of its bond market.
The EMEAP has set out the ABF’s specific objectives as the promotion of
investor awareness of Asian bonds and the acceleration of market/regulatory
reforms in the region and individual nations. These objectives have been achieved
to a certain extent, as can been seen from the fact that the index introduced by
the ABF has come to the market as an Asian bond investment benchmark. Also,
progress towards the launch of the ABF2 has resulted in legal/tax system reform
and infrastructure development in individual Asian countries. In deciding thecountry weightings in the Pan Asia Index tracked by the PAIF , four factors weretaken into consideration, namely: total bonds outstanding, trade turnover, local
currency sovereign credit rating and market access (evaluation based on laws,
regulations and market infrastructure) — thereby incentivizing individual nations
to accelerate market reform and raise their own weighting scale.
All in all, as a result of launching these funds, the ABF2 was able to identify
and reduce obstacles to bond transactions. In particular, , the existence ofobstacles to cross-border transactions was identified as a challenge from the PAIF.
The EMEAP notes a number of specific achievements that have beenaccomplished by the ABF2. Firstly, the launch of the ABF2 has resulted in theliberalization of capital transaction regulations in Asian countries, including
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Current status of Asian financial cooperation

the nation’s interbank bond market. Regulatory liberalization has also taken placein Malaysia, where hedging transactions by non-residents have been deregulatedby the government. Meanwhile, in Thailand, various measures have been taken,
including the easing of the regulations on institutional investors’ overseas
investment. Secondly, the establishment of the ABF2 has led Malaysia andThailand to abolish withholding taxes on inward investment by non-residents.
Thirdly, as bond index tracker exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have not previously
existed in Malaysia and Thailand, both countries have gone on to introduce new
guidelines on ETFs. In addition, the EMEAP has provided recommendations toregulators in different nations with regard to fund investor protection, a movethat is expected to help promote further regulatory harmonization. Fourthly,
contract documents for the PAIF have been prepared in accordance withinternational standards, thus facilitating the adoption of such international
standards in each country. Fifthly, the introduction of the ABF2 has resulted ineach nation strengthening its securities settlement system as well as the network
involved. The fund, being an ETF, has additionally led increased market pricetransparency.
Also important to note is the fact that the ABF has directly facilitatedimproved investment returns and an expanded inflow of each country’s foreign
reserves to the Asian region. As described here, the ABF has fulfilled the crucial
function of providing new investment products to help expand the bond investor
base and promote market infrastructure development.
The development of regional products led a significant step towards promoting
cross-border transactions, a concept that has been echoed by ASEAN in relation
to its below-mentioned efforts towards integrating its member nations’ equity
markets, and the ABF has been identified as a pioneer product contributing tothose kinds of efforts.

5.3 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was set up in 1996 as APEC’s
official advisory body, with membership consisting of business people. A variety
of discussions are being held among ABAC members regarding financial systemdevelopment in the region at a venue called the Advisory Group on APEC
Financial System Capacity Building.39
The ABAC’s “Recommendations for APEC Leaders (2009)” consists of 19 items,
including two relating to finance: the “Strengthening and Deepening the Region’s
Capital Markets,” and “Promotion of Capacity-Building for Strengthening the Financial
Relevant materials can be obtained at: https://www.abaconline.org/v4/content.
php?ContentID=1304

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Figure 5- 4 Recommendations to APEC Leaders 2010
for strengthening and deepening the region’s capital markets

1. Promoting stronger growth(1) Promoting regional integration through sub-regional financial integration
・Advancing CMIM as a platform to enhance financial stability in the APEC
region.
(2) Encouraging Islamic finance(3) Promoting infrastructure public-private partnership(4) Developing bond and equity markets
・Developing wholesale securities markets.
・Reducing barriers to cross-border settlement.
・Promoting cross-border collateral markets.
・Introducing a funds passport scheme.

2. Ensuring more sustainable growth(1) Advancing regulatory reform(2) Adopting International Financial Reporting Standards(3) Financing the environment

3. Achieving more balanced growth(1) Expanding SMME access to finance・Developing properly structured credit information systems and legal
frameworks
・Offering some credit enhancement in the form of credit guarantees, andintroducing better regulatory framework
・Implement the collateral law to secure the loan
(2) Enhancing social safety nets
(3) Promoting financial inclusion
・Launch an APEC Financial Inclusion Initiative

Source: ABAC recommendations to APEC Leaders (2010), ”Strengthening and deepening the region’s capital markets”

System.” Included are specific recommendations to: build a financial systeminfrastructure to facilitate SME finance; address impediments to bond market
development; and promote public-private partnerships.
In fiscal year 2010, the ABAC made recommendations on, among others, thecoexistence of Islamic finance and conventional finance, the establishment ofAsia Pacific regional partnerships for promoting public-private infrastructure
collaboration, the creation of a securities market dedicated to institutional
investors, the introduction of the fund passporting scheme, the adoption of104

Current status of Asian financial cooperation

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), and the promotion ofenvironmental finance and SME finance (Figure 5-4).

5.4 Equity market integration by ASEAN
5.4.1 Integration of the ASEAN capital markets
Next, this report examines ASEAN’s initiative toward achieving the integration ofits member nations’ equity markets. In November 2007, agreement was reachedamong ASEAN countries on the plan (Blueprint) for transforming the ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC) into a single market and production base by 2015.
The Blueprint envisaged an ASEAN economic region in which there is a freeflow of goods, services, investment, skilled workers, and capital, while aiming toachieve the integration of capital markets.40
Based on the Blueprint, efforts have been made in many areas toward market
integration. In 2004, the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) was set up asa venue for securities market regulators to discuss the development of regional
capital markets. The ACMF’s initial discussion focused on system harmonization
concerning: (1) professional market participants’ qualification and training; (2)accounting and auditing systems; (3) information disclosure for equity-related
products; and (4) retail business-related rules. This was later followed by theaddition of: (5) information disclosure for bond-related products.
During the period from April 2008 to April 2009, the Implementation Plan
for ASEAN Capital Markets Integration was studied with the assistance fromthe Asian Development Bank, before being approved at the ASEAN Finance
Ministers’ Meeting (AFMM) (ASEAN Capital Markets Forum [2009] 41). A plan
based on the above-mentioned Blueprint, the Implementation Plan, has its
objective of integrating the regional capital markets by 2015. At a time whensome stock exchanges in the region are seeking partnership with other exchanges
on an individual basis, the Implementation Plan aims to achieve integration on aregional basis.
The Plan is based on the six principles, namely: (1) adoption of international
standards to the maximum extent possible; (2) inherent stress on market
liberalization; (3) sequencing of regional integration initiatives; (4) engagementof the ASEAN Secretariat as the main coordinator; (5) implementation of countrylevel policies in a manner consistent with the objective of regional integration;
However, according to the Blueprint, the actual stance on capital transaction liberalization
will be decided according to each country’s particular circumstances.
41
For details, refer to the following: http://www.theacmf.org/ACMF/report/ImplementationPlan.
pdf
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and (6) a strong communications plan and consultative processes to build
consensus and set priorities for integration initiatives.
The aim of the Implementation Plan is to achieve increased market
infrastructure harmonization in an effort to grow regional cross-bordertransactions through each nations’ stock exchanges, given that each ASEAN
nation’s capital market alone is too small in size. The Plan involves specificinitiatives to: (1) create a fundamental environment enabling regional integration([i] the framework for harmonization and mutual recognition); (2) create amarket infrastructure and regionally-focused products and intermediaries ([ii]ASEAN exchange alliance and governance framework, [iii] promote new products
and build ASEAN as an asset class, [iv] strengthen the bond markets); and(3) strengthen the implementation process ([v] align domestic capital market
development plans to support regional integration, [vi] reinforce ASEAN working
processes). In short, these initiatives are designed to promote regional integrationon three fronts, i.e. regulation harmonization, market infrastructure development,
and product development.
The Implementation Plan also specifies three phases (Phase I: 2009-2010,
Phase II: 2011-2012 and Phase III: 2013-2015). The core strategy in the Plan is aharmonization and mutual recognition process to expand scope/country coverage.
This process is closely associated with stock exchange alliance. Mutual recognitionmeans that, for example, approval is given to country B’s issuer to issue bonds incountry A pursuant to country B’s regulations, and vice versa.
The regional integration the AEC Blueprint aims to achieve : (1) free capitalflow in the region; (2) the issuer ’s freedom to issue bonds anywhere in theregion; and (3) the investor’s freedom to invest anywhere in the region. In otherwords, such regional integration will enable investors to trade in any countryof the region and any products of any country in the region while allowingintermediaries to provide services in any country of the region once approval is
obtained in the country of the intermediary’s domicile.
In order to achieve such market environment, it will be essential to reducethe burden on market participants by promoting harmonization and mutual
recognition. Two approaches are possible. The first approach will be to fully
harmonize laws and regulations, mainly in accordance with international
standards. Under this approach, only small unharmonized parts will be addressed
through mutual recognition, and capital transaction regulations will be totallyliberalized. That is the approach previously taken by the EU.
The second approach will be to achieve general harmonization, coupled withmutual recognition given for complementary purposes, while attaining increased
levels of capital flows within the region. This represents the vision and approach
under the AEC Blueprint.

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Of special note here is that it will be difficult to achieve mutual recognition
unless the two countries involved have similar regulations. From the perspectiveof diverse financial system risk management, a nation with a system relatively
superior to that of another nation is unlikely to agree to mutual recognition.
Therefore, it is reasonable to say that mutual recognition essentially constitutes
a process in which individual countries will be expected to contribute to increased
harmonization through a migration to a more superior system. In other words,
it will be essential to reduce the market development gap that exists among
different nations.
While ASEAN mutual recognition guidelines will be formulated with the aimof promoting harmonization and mutual recognition, the ultimate purpose of theframework’s introduction is to grow cross-border transactions, not regulatorychange itself. Therefore, it will be vitally important to prioritize initiative
implementation. Based on the abovementioned guidelines, the following goals
have been stated: (1) facilitate mutual recognition by ensuring conformity to
IOSCO principles to the extent possible; (2) expand mutual recognition to the
maximum extent by preserving domestic market soundness while securing
investor protection and ensuring proper management of systemic risk; and (3)strengthen cooperation and information exchange among different regulatory
authorities in order to facilitate mutual recognition.
Specific transaction types to which the framework of harmonization andmutual recognition should be applied are: (1) assistance for cross-border
fundraising; (2) assistance for cross-border product marketing; (3) assistance forcross-border investment; and (4) assistance to intermediaries for market access.
The actual initiative implementation will start with the promotion of bilateral
integration, eventually moving on to a multilateral arrangement. Given the
different levels of market development in each country, an opt-in approach
will be used while allowing each nation to choose whether to participate insuch integration within its capability. Under the plan, priority will be given
to institutional investors over retail investors. In addition, capital accountliberalization and tax system harmonization, outside of the scope of the plan, will
be a prerequisite for the promotion of the framework for regulatory harmonizationand mutual recognition. The ASEAN Secretariat must seek to fulfill suchprerequisite by working closely with relevant authorities, while paying due
attention to the fact that the growth in cross-border transactions makes risk
management indispensable, and technical assistance must be provided to lessdeveloped countries.
According to the ASEAN Secretariat’s website, the current ongoing initiatives
under the capital market integration plan include: harmonization concerning
equity-related information disclosure and marketing rules, harmonization inaccounting/auditing standards, mutual recognition between market professionals,

Current status of Asian financial cooperation107

and the cross-border issuance of bonds and CISs (Collective Investment Schemes).
In particular, as a bond market reinforcement measure, score cards for assessing
the level of market growth achieved are currently being devised by experts.

5.4.2 Harmonization in information disclosure standards (ASEAN and Plus
Standards Scheme)
One specific achievement of the market integration initiative is the ASEAN and
Plus Standards Scheme, the framework devised by the ACMF for information
disclosure standards that apply to regional cross-border securities issuance (equity
and bonds). The objective of this scheme is to facilitate cross-border issuance andpromote increased transparency levels for securities in the region, thereby helping
build ASEAN as an asset class.
The ASEAN Standards are common to all ASEAN member countries andconform to IOSCO International standards, while the adopted accounting andauditing standards are fully identical with international standards. On theother hand, Plus Standards represent an additional set of standards requiredby the accepted practices, laws and regulations of individual countries. Besides
adopting these standards, experts are currently in the process of studying how tosignificantly shorten and standardize the time required for securities registrationin each nation.
In June 2009, the decision to adopt the above framework was announced by
the securities market regulators in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Other
countries are planning to join in the adoption once preparations are completed,but have not yet specified any dates.

5.4.3 Interconnection of regional stock exchanges
ASEAN has two bodies which play roles parallel to that of the ACMF: a task force
for regional securities market partnership, and the ASEAN 100 Task Force. While
the ACMF is composed of securities market supervisory authorities, the two task
forces of ASEAN include stock exchanges. Following an agreement reached by the
ASEAN Financial Ministers’ Meeting held in April 2005, the regional securities
market partnership task force set as its goal to interlink the transaction andsettlement systems of different stock exchanges in the region (interlinked
ASEAN securities market) by 2010. Although Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, thePhilippines, Indonesia and Vietnam had made public their decision to become
As for the establishment of the regional cross-border trading system (electronic trading
network), Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand will participate in the system from the second
half of 2011, with the Philippines expected to join in the first half of 2012. Indonesia andVietnam are still undecided. (The Nikkei newspaper, December 5, 2010 edition.)
42

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Current status of Asian financial cooperation

initial members in the task force, in December 2009 Indonesia announced apostponement of its participation due to the delay in preparation, resulting inlaunch slightly behind the original schedule.42
Meanwhile, the ASEAN 100 Task Force has its goal to build ASEAN as an
asset class by developing ASEAN equity indices and ASEAN ETFs. In September
2005, the FTSE/ASEAN 180 Index and FTSE/ASEAN 40 Index were introducedby the stock exchanges of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines
and Indonesia jointly with the FTSE Group of the UK, accompanied by thedevelopment of relevant ETFs. In addition, the ASEAN Boards, which will be set
up in the future within each stock exchange are expected to provide real time
price information on major individual stocks of the region.
These initiatives are faced with impediments resulting from the different
capital transaction regulations in the region. In addition, the following issues
can be cited. 43 : (1) it is not certain to what extent each country will be able
to conform to the standards adopted by Singapore, a nation with a superior
system infrastructure, given the different levels of market development inindividual countries; (2) currently, there exists limited demand for trading systeminterconnection (while large-sized institutional investors are able to place orders
via separate routes, cross-border transactions by retail investors are still limited);(3) it is challenging to raise the profile of ASEAN through market partnerships,
making it essentially necessary to develop and expand each nation’s market;
and (4) given that equity transactions, unlike bond transactions, are conducted
through a stock exchange, harmonization among different stock exchange-related
systems will be essential to promote increased cross-border transactions. However,with many Asian stock exchanges being owned and managed by their national
governments, the future integration of Asia may take a form very different fromthat achieved in Europe and the US.

5.4.4 Need for collaboration between the ABMI and
ASEAN equity market integration
In coming years, as part of its Asian bond market development initiative, theABMI should collaborate with ASEAN’s equity market integration initiative as
much as possible, in order to reduce impediments to cross-border transactions
and to ensure harmonization in laws and regulations. Both initiatives seemto have a great deal in common with regard to the securities related legal
system, for example. Given that the implementation plan for the ASEAN capital
market integration initiative has as one of its policies “collaboration with otherinitiatives”, set forth in “(4) Strengthen the bond market,” it will be desirable tohave such collaboration undertaken by experts involved in both initiatives.

43

From Urade [2007]

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6

Challenges for new Asian financial
cooperation initiatives

The regional financial cooperation initiatives outlined in the preceding chapter
mainly consisted of initiatives implemented based on a critical review of the Asianfinancial crisis. Yet the situation has changed with the passage of time, and Asian
economies are now in the midst of dynamic growth, making it necessary to bringabout a paradigm shift in the framework for regional financial cooperation. This
chapter discusses the challenges faced by new financial cooperation initiatives,with a focus on: (1) promotion of regional cross-border transactions; (2) expansionof individual countries’ corporate bond markets; and (3) enhancement of private
sector cooperation.
In particular, (1) promotion of regional cross-border transactions and (2)expansion of individual countries’ corporate bond markets are in a mutuallydevelopmental relationship with each other. Promotion of cross-border transactions
should lead to increased liquidity in each nation’s bond market, while theexpansion of individual countries’ bond markets should result in better confidencein such markets, thus helping promote cross-border transactions.

6.1 Promotion of regional cross-border transactions
6.1.1 Objective of promoting regional cross-border transactionsFirst of all, real economic factors such as the changing economic conditions
following the global financial crisis seem to be the motivation for expanding
regional cross-border transactions and promoting regional financial integration.
At a time when developed economies continue to struggle, Asian nations mustgrow their regional demand while modifying their growth strategy based onexports to Europe and the US. Under such circumstances, financial systemdevelopment is becoming increasingly important as a stepping stone for effecting
such change. Efforts towards developing the financial system may potentiallybring changes in each country’s savings and investment balance and growing
domestic demand will lead to increased regional real economic integration. This inturn will make it even more necessary to promote regional financial integration.
The second set of factors is associated with capital transactions. The need for
addressing the issue of capital flows from developed countries to Asia has been
identified by Asian nations as a persistent challenge. In the wake of the 1997

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Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

Asian financial crisis, particular importance was attached to efforts towards
reducing borrowings from non-Asian countries, mainly developed economies,by developing the regional financial system and “channeling Asian savings toinvestment in Asia ,.” With an aim to mitigate the “double mismatching” problem,
which involves the use of short-term foreign currency borrowings to fund longterm domestic investment.
In the years since the Asian financial crisis, Asian nations, mainly ASEAN
member states, have been experiencing a net savings surplus due to the declining
investment (Figure 6-1). Under such circumstances, some experts have often
expressed the following opinion: “Asian savings first flow out of the region to
non-Asian destinations before returning to Asia via developed nations. If Asianfinancial/capital market were developed, such outward investment from Asia
would be directed to regional investment destinations, making it unnecessary for
Asians to invest in developed markets such as the US and Europe.” In addition,industry experts have taken issue with the fact that while outward investment
from Asia is composed mainly of investments with relatively low returns, such as
bond investments funded by Asian nations’ foreign reserves, inward investment
into Asia comprises mainly investments with relatively high returns such as
foreign direct investments and equity investments.
Recently, on the back of developed nations’ monetary easing and Asia’s highgrowth potential, a capital inflows into Asia have greatly expanded. It is becoming
increasingly important for Asian countries to reduce their reliance on capital flowfrom developed nations by growing regional cross-border transactions.
Without doubt, there are positive as well as negative effects from Asiansavings flowing out of the region and developed nations’ capital flowing into Asia.
In particular, inward direct investment into Asia serves the function of supporting
Asian economic growth. Furthermore, the current savings and investment andcapital flows situation are being affected by non-financial system factors suchas foreign exchange policies. Another point to note is that a system focused onregionally-funded money, with potentially limited information asymmetry, offers
no guarantee that the money will not flee the Asian region in times of crisis.
That said, the development of a regional financial system involving
institutional investors and the provision of an increased amount of funds withhigher risk tolerance levels is of great significance. To sum up what is discussed
above, the primary significance of strengthening regional financial integration
lies in the reinforcing of the regional financial/capital market and financial
institutions, thus (1) helping raise regional economic growth rates on the backof increased investments and promoting real economic integration, while (2)securing the financial stability that will result from change in capital flows.

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

111

Figure 6-1 Saving ratio and investment ratio (as percentage of GDP, in 2008)

Source: ADB, Key Indicators

The goal of regional cross-border transaction promotion can be summarized
into the following four items.
Firstly, growth in cross-border transactions will stimulate competition,
resulting in the reinforcing of the regional financial/capital market and financial
institutions. As for the bond market, the arrival of investors with diverse
investment methodologies will lead to increased investor base diversification andhigher secondary market liquidity levels. In addition, the expected introductionof new financial products and risk management methodologies, along withinternational standards on corporate information disclosure and governance, will
have the benefit of improving the market maturity and reliability as well.
Secondly, increased cross-border transactions will enable individuals andcompanies in the region to receive new and superior financial services. Expanded
inward investment from foreign countries should allow domestic fundraisers toenjoy lower funding costs as well as access to increased amounts of funds. In
addition, the anticipated progress in capital account liberalization in each country
would make it possible to raise funds in regional currencies. At the same time,
investors will be able to achieve more diversified portfolios and reduced investment
risk thanks to international investment diversification. Also, increased issuanceby non-residents should present new investment opportunities to domestic
investors.
Thirdly, while many Asian countries are showing a net savings surplus, themove to “use Asian savings for investment in Asia” may result in improved
efficiency for regional fund allocation. As seen in the objective of “building
ASEAN as an asset class,” the expected progress in market integration will bringabout economy of scale, making it feasible to achieve reduced funding costs by

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Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

attracting new investment.
Fourthly, there exists the need for cross-border transactions from a perspectiveof fund supply/demand. In addition to developed nations being quite keen toinvest in emerging countries in Asia with high growth potential, Asian countries
have strong funding needs pertaining to infrastructure investment. Although thelenders and the borrowers share identical needs, both sides face impediments,
such as laws, regulations, and foreign exchange and it will be necessary to remove
such impediments to achieve the smooth flowing of funds.

6.1.2 Desirable development of individual nations’ markets: A bottom-up
approach
Figure 6-2 is a list of steps that will need to be taken for promoting increased
cross-border transactions, some of which are outlined in this section 6.1.2 throughsection 6.1.5. The first point to note is that it is quite challenging to integratedifferent markets and harmonize different regulations. Such integration andharmonization cannot make substantial progress without understanding thatsuch goals follow great significance. Also important fact is that, as a prerequisite
for promoting such integration, it will be essential to narrow the development gap
that exists among individual countries by enhancing each nation’s market (i.e.
increased issuer scale, better credit quality, improved secondary market liquidity
as well as enhanced risk hedging vehicles and settlement systems).
For nations in the region whose domestic markets are relatively moredeveloped, it will be indispensable for them to provide support to relatively lessdeveloped national markets through enhanced technical assistance in an effort
to grow cross-border transactions. Put differently, promotion of cross-bordertransactions is intended to contribute to the development of each country’s market.
Therefore, promotion of cross-border transactions and development of each nation’s
market should be carried out simultaneously, with the bottom-up approach.

Figure 6-2 Requirements for the promotion of cross-border trading

1. Reduction of the difference of market development among Asian nations byimproving bond markets in each country (expansion of issuers, improvementof creditworthiness, improvement of secondary market liquidity, risk hedging
tools, settlement systems, etc.)
2. Modification and harmonization of institutions and market infrastructure(capital account regulations, tax systems, market-related legal systems andregulations, credit risk data, including credit ratings, accounting and auditing
standards, and settlement systems, etc.)

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3. Development of new products focused on the region as a whole (ex. Asian
Corporate Bond Funds)
4 . C red it en ha ncement for bond issuers th rough cred it g ua ra nt ees a nd
securitization
5. Development of institutional investors within the region and dissemination of
all information required for investment (PR activities)
6 . Cha nges of foreig n excha nge pol icies (capita l accou nt l ibera l ization,internationalization of regional currencies, etc.)
7. Progress of discussion about economic and financial integration (cost andbenefit of financial integration) , coordination of standpoint and opinions ofeach country

Source: Shimizu [2010]

In order to make individual country market development efforts conducive toincreased cross-border transactions, it will be particularly important to: (1) growthe secondary market for the purpose of facilitating investor trading activities(i.e. increased liquidity) ; (2) broaden the range of hedging instruments available
in order to reduce trading costs (in particular, foreign exchange derivatives andcurrency swaps); and (3) help increase the market size and promote regulatory
liberalization so that the markets will become constituents of the benchmark
indices used by investors. This should be coupled with the establishing of market
indices that will better incentivize investment.
In addition, each country in the region must constantly keep in mind theperspective of the cross-border transaction participants — developing issuers andinvestors.

6.1.3 Expansion of the framework for harmonization and mutual recognition
The introduction and expansion of the framework for harmonization and mutual
recognition constitute key steps of the bottom-up approach.
The areas targeted for harmonization and mutual recognition can be broken
down broadly into: (1) direct infrastructure areas (trading platforms, clearing/
settlement systems); (2) indirect infrastructure areas (laws and regulations, credit
rating agencies, accounting/auditing standards, tax systems); and (3) foreignexchange regulations. In particular, harmonization of financial regulation andsupervision, albeit challenging, seems to be important from a risk management
perspective. One option to consider for achieving such harmonization will be foreach country to adopt global standards and best practices.
Takeuchi [2005] and the Asian Development Bank [2010] (GOE Report of Task
Force 4) describe the significant results of research on these issues accumulated

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by the ABMI.
The former research was performed as a joint project between the Bank ofJapan and Bank Negara Malaysia, and highlights findings from a survey frommarket participants while examining impediments to inward investment by nonresidents, outward investment by residents and issuance in domestic markets
by non-residents. Included in such examination were: (1) capital transaction
regulations; (2) tax systems; (3) regulatory transparency; (4) the potential
availability of hedging instruments; (5) clearing/settlement systems; (6) market
price transparency; and (7) investor protection and information disclosure. On thewhole, it is a comprehensive report on those impediments.
As for the latter report (the GOE report), the details are outlined earlier in
Chapter 5. This report can also be recognized as a fairly comprehensive one,
except for the fact that it does not discuss credit rating agencies and accounting/auditing standards in detail.
Other relevant efforts being made include the following: (1) credit rating
agency-related activities performed by the ACRAA, which (as described in Chapter5) provides training designed to assist individual nations’ credit rating agencies
in improving their skills, and conducts research on credit rating harmonization;(2) initiatives by the ABF2, whose launch resulted in tax system change andincreased relaxation of capital transaction regulations, while contributing to
an improvement in market-related laws and regulations, securities settlement
systems and market price transparency, among other effects.
As shown above, a broad range of outcomes have already been accomplishedwith regard to the expansion of cross-border transactions, and the ABMF
should be viewed as a group that can fulfill the objectives contained in therecommendations by the GOE report.
Shown below is a summary of thoughts for the future based on the backgroundhighlighted above.
Firstly, the ABMF in coming years must conduct investigations that maintaincontinuity mentioned in the GOE report. As its title indicates, the GOE report
goes only as far as to present “barriers to investment and settlement,” without
covering detailed review on law and regulation. Consequently, it will be essential
to carefully examine any legal and regulatory changes necessary for the growthof diverse cross-border transactions in the future and seek for changing andharmonizing rules.
Secondly, impediments other than legal and regulatory ones must be addressedon an individual basis. One potential approach would be to expand the ABMF’s
sub-forums further, from the current two. For example, with regard to the issue

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of credit rating, it will be important to explore the possibility of harmonizationby collaborating with the ACRAA and leveraging, to the extent possible, the past
research previously made on the subject (in particular, the creation of a regional
scale). Another option to be considered is for a country other than Japan to act as
leader for a new sub-forum (not confined to credit rating-related issues) in orderto reflect diverse values.
Thirdly, in implementing these initiatives, it will be essential to pursue thepossibility of building a mutual recognition framework, which is thought to be a
relatively easier task when compared to harmonization. Challenges of particularimportance will be to facilitate cross-border issuance by non-residents andintroduce the fund passporting system.44
It will be necessary to collaborate with ASEAN’s initiative as much as possible
to introduce a harmonization and mutual recognition framework, and to capitalize
on ASEAN’s knowhow. One potential step to be considered, among others, is to use
the ASEAN and Plus Standards Scheme that has already materialized.
In building a strategy for introducing a harmonization and mutual recognition
framework, it is also important to draw on the experience of European peers.
Fourthly, the gap exists among different countries in terms of the level ofsettlement system development in particular. This gap is a significant cause ofcross-border transaction-related settlement costs and risks remaining high, which
is hindering the growth of such transactions. A first step towards solving thisproblem will be to develop individual nations’ settlement systems and achieve
STP (Straight Through Processing) as early as possible. In addition, it will benecessary to promote settlement system integration among different countries
through continuous discussion at the ABMF’s Sub-Forum 2, while working hard
toward establishing a regional settlement intermediary (RSI) — a long-term
challenge.
Fifthly, in view of the ABF2’s track record, it would be helpful to create
and launch the ABF3 to reduce impediments to the growth of cross-bordertransactions.

44

For details of the fund passporting, see the column below.

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Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

Column:

Fund passporting(regional mutual recognition system for mutual funds)

As a financial intermediary, a mutual fund management company (investment
management company) acts as a middleman between the capital market andinvestors. These entities seek risk diversification by allocating funds based oninvestment diversification, undertaken through an investment decision-making
process. Such a service by mutual fund management companies contributes tothe improved functioning of capital markets.
In recent years, emerging countries have witnessed a remarkable growthin their mutual fund systems. According to the IOSCO ( International
Organization of Securities Commissions), the total mutual funds outstandingof emerging nations (31 nations surveyed) stood at US$1,940 billion (approx.
160,000 billion yen) as of 2007, 2.7 times that of the Japanese mutual fundmarket at the time. The pace of mutual fund growth has been particularly
significant in emerging Asian economies in the midst of dynamic growth.
While the Asian mutual fund market is still small in size in comparison tothat of the US and Europe, the outstanding balance of its assets has been
rising steadily, driven by the expanding investor base in the region.
While mutual funds are a global investment vehicle for investment, theirmarketing and distribution are performed essentially within the regulatory
f ramework of the countr y of domici le, under the pr i nciple of i nvestor
protection. As a result, the Asian mutual fund market is fragmented under
different legal structures. With scale being a crucial factor in the mutual fundbusiness, this point is critical.
A type of mutual fund called UCITS fund has become freely marketableto customers throughout the European region thanks to an economy ofscale, achieved by conforming to the region’s standardized regulations andpreserving the product quality related to investor protection and compliance(or using the superior quality to enhance the brand appeal). It has also
contributed significantly to the growth of the European mutual fund market.
UCITS funds are created in compliance with the Undertaking for a
Collective Investment in Transferable Securities. With common requirements
having been defined with regard to investor protection and disclosure, a
UCITS fund may be marketed in any EU member country. UCITS standards
have become global standards, resulting in increased sales outside of the EU
as well.
The Australian government, in its capital market enhancement plan(Australia as a Financial Center: Building on our strengths, November 2009),
recommends “mutual recognition of mutual funds,” pointing to growing
support for the introduction of a fund passporting in Asia (see Proposal 7 in
Chapter 7).

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

1176.1.4 Increased issuance by non-residents
An important step towards growing the issuer base is to allow non-residents toissue bonds. In Hong Kong and Singapore, issuance by non-residents is conducted
freely, and China, Malaysia and Thailand are gradually starting to deregulate
such issuance.
However, such issuances are still subject to restrictions in each country, andin most cases the local currency-denominated funds raised in each market are notallowed to be transferred out of the country. For that reason, in the Philippines
and Indonesia, there are very few cases of issuance by non-residents. Although
Malaysia has come to deregulate issuance by non-residents under its stated goalof becoming an international financial center for Islamic finance, non-resident
fundraising accounts for only a few percent of the total corporate bonds issued,
and any change in the nation’s domestic liquidity would potentially make such
issuances difficult to undertake.
In consideration of these circumstances, a general approach towards thelimited deregulation of non-resident issuance is recommended for the foreseeable
future.
Shown below is our basic idea based on the background outlined above.
First of all, each country should examine a strategy for capital accountliberalization and currency internationalization, with the cross-border issuance
expansion policy devised within the framework of such strategy. At the sametime, it will be important to reduce cross-border issuance costs through efforts todevelop hedging instruments such as currency swaps.
Next, it will be helpful for international institutions to continue to issue
Asian currency-denominated bonds in a timely manner, using such bonds as acatalyst for market expansion. In particular, it will be desirable to effectively use
the Asian Currency Note Program operated by the Asian Development Bank. That
scheme will potentially contribute to increased system harmonization as well as afurther spread of the MTN system.

6.1.5 Need for capital account liberalization and currency internationalization
Currently, in East Asian countries other than Japan, Hong Kong andSingapore, their residual capital transaction regulations continue to be an
impediment to the growth of cross-border transactions. In order to promoteincreased cross-border transactions, capital account liberalization and currencyinternationalization are indispensable. Currency internationalization refers towhen a nation’s currency has come to be used for foreign trade transactions and118

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

capital transactions (i.e. bank loans and bond issuances conducted in an overseas
location), based on the situation that the currency will be allowed to be exchanged
freely with other currencies.
While non-internationalization of a country’s currency poses significant
constraints on cross-border transactions involving each nation’s domestic bondmarket (namely, inward investments and bond issuance by non-residents),
internationalization is not itself a prerequisite for such transactions. However,for Asian currency-denominated bonds to be issued in the offshore market bya resident or non-resident, the currency must be internationalized. In a highlyinternationalized state, both the issuers and the investors may be non-resident.
Taking as an example the case of Australia, a country with a high levelof bond transaction internationalization, the following can be cited as the
background to increased internationalization: (1) a high level of domestic bondmarket development; (2) the existence of many issuers with superior credit
quality; (3) a level of currency swap market development; and (4) existence ofrelatively high long-term interest rates. As shown above, the development ofdomestic financial/capital and foreign exchange markets is a prerequisite forcurrency internationalization.
In addition, it will be necessary to liberalize foreign exchange and capitaltransactions and build confidence in the currency value. In moving forward toward
capital account liberalization, it is essential to implement sound macroeconomic
policy (including a policy to allow increased foreign exchange rate flexibility) anddevelop the domestic financial system. Since the frequent changes in regulations
are highly likely to compromise investor confidence, such liberalization must be
pursued discreetly over a long period of time.
In particular, with capital inflows into Asia rising now, an increasing
number of Asian nations are strengthening their capital inflow regulation andreintroducing taxation on bond transactions. 45 Investors believe that capitaltransaction regulation and taxation represent the biggest impediments toincreased cross-border transactions.
Based on the above-mentioned background, the following outline the issue ofcapital account liberalization and currency internationalization.
Firstly, each Asian country must address the issue of balancing its capital
In July 2010, Indonesia introduced a measure mandating that any central bank bondinvestor must hold the bonds for a period of at least one month. The Korean government
tightened its regulations in June and November 2010 through a reduction of position limit forbanks’ foreign exchange futures transactions for example, while deciding on the reintroductionof withholding taxes on foreign investors’ investments in Korean government bonds — a tax
previously abolished in 2009. Thailand also revived the practice of withholding taxes of 15% on
local bond investment by non-resident investors in October 2010.

45

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

119flow management and liberalization by: (1) developing its domestic financial/
capital and foreign exchange markets (in particular, by developing a diverse
foreign exchange derivatives market); (2) ensuring sound macroeconomic policy
implementation; and (3) formulating strategy on capital account liberalization.
Secondly, it will be essential to deepen discussion on the issue of capital
account liberalization and currency internationalization at regional financial
cooperation initiatives. Capital account liberalization is a very important
challenge for expanding cross-border transactions and creating an offshore
market, making the discussion on the issue among industry experts in the regionof prime importance.
Thirdly, capital account liberalization is expected to increase the importanceof emergency liquidity assistance, making the strengthening of the CMIM
imperative. In addition to an increased fund size, this will involve reducing
the CMIM’s IMF linkage, through strengthened surveillance of the regional
economies, thereby improving its flexibility. The first step to be taken will beto launch the AMRO (ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office) as early as
possible.
Fourthly, regarding the development of domestic financial/capital markets,
emphasis must be put on the development of government bond markets, with theaim of establishing a risk-free yield curve — a must for expanding the corporatebond market. In addition, it will be important to open the government bondmarket to foreign investors for the purpose of making it a major investment
vehicle for East Asian countries’ foreign reserves. Nations imposing restrictions
on inward investment into the domestic bond markets must seriously consider
relaxing such restrictions.

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Column:

Global peso bond

In September 2010, the Philippines government issued a global peso bondtotaling US$1,000 million (initial maturity of 10 years). Although the facevalue currency is the Philippine peso, settlement is made in the US dollar
in the offshore market. At the time of issuance, an intermediary enters into
foreign exchange transactions, selling US dollars and buying pesos, before
delivering the peso-denominated proceeds to the issuer. All interest rate andforeign exchange risks are borne by the investors.
With no peso transaction taking place within the Philippines, it isallowed to issue bonds regardless of the existence of the capital transaction
regulation. In addition, the investor is not subject to withholding taxes of
20%, payable when investing in domestic bonds.
For the issuer, issuance in such a manner will be more desirable than US
dollar-denominated issuance because foreign exchange risk will be borne by
the investors. Still, any economic effects to the investor will be the same as
those from a settlement in peso. Likewise, any effect of the investor’s sale ofthe bond in the Philippines’ foreign exchange and interest rate markets willbe the same as that from a sale conducted in pesos.
Although the issuance of global peso bonds was without doubt phenomenalfrom the perspective of foreign exchange control, such bonds are also exposed
to risks resembling those from a liberalization of capital transaction,
presumably making it difficult to sanction issuance without limit for theforeseeable future.
On the other hand, given investors’ strong need to invest in Asia, issuanceof bonds in the form of global peso bonds represents a helpful approach, thatis not subject to any capital transaction regulation.

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

1216.2 Expansion of individual economies’ corporate bond markets
It will be important to further grow each economy’s corporate bond market while
paying special attention to the expansion of the issuer base and the developmentof investors. Figure 6-3 provides a snapshot of challenges relating to the
expansion of individual economies’ corporate bond markets, some of which areelaborated on in later sections, 6.2.1 through 6.2.6.
Figure 6-3 Issues relating to corporate bond market development
and financial integration(1) Premises
・The issuer mix is weighted toward financial institutions and the infrastructureand energy sectors.
・The expansion of corporate bond issues is linked to other means of finance (bankloans, stock issues, internal financing).
・It is possible that markets are unattractive to investors from a risk-return
perspective.

(2) Expansion of issuer base(It is necessary to provide wide and good
selection of product.)
・Use of credit guarantee mechanisms to bring SMEs into the issuer base.
・Development of new products→ Mutual funds, bonds for individuals, Islamic financial products, MTNs
→ Use of securitization (e.g., securitization of overseas remittances)→ Products to facilitate use of bond markets for infrastructure development→ Bonds denominated in currency baskets(3) Investor diversification
・Development of i nstitutiona l i nvest ors ( i nclud i ng PR ta rget ed t owa rd
institutional investors)
・Investor education for individual investors(4) Other market participants: securities companies, securities
exchanges, regulatory authorities
・Development of securities companies
・Information sharing between securities companies and exchanges
・R ei n forcement of ma rket super v ision, capacity -bui ld i ng for reg ulat or yauthorities(5) Direct infrastructure: improvement of liquidity
・Establishment of benchmark yields (in government bond markets)
・Establishment of market makers in corporate bond markets
・Development of derivative and REPO markets
・Development of settlement systems
・Development of market information systems (bond pricing agencies)

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Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

(6) Indirect infrastructure: reinforcement of investor protection
・Reinforcement of laws and regulations, regional standardization, adoption ofinternational standards→ Regulatory transparency, guarantees of equality and legal protection forparticipants
・Bankruptcy laws (creditor protection)
・Establishment of corporate information disclosure and accounting and auditing
standards, corporate governance rules, credit rating agencies and credit risk
data bases
・Tax systems (withholding taxes)
・Development of analysts, etc.

(7) Promotion of cross-border trading within the region
・Capital transaction regulations (issuance and investment by non-residents)
・Selection of foreign exchange policies, promotion of currency internationalization(8) Others: basic research (especially corporate fund-raising structures),development of basic data, development of Japanese financial andcapital markets

Source: Shimizu [2010]

The expansion of the corporate bond market has lagged behind that of thegovernment bond market on a relative basis. With public companies accounting
for a significant portion of the overall corporate bond issuances, issuance byprivate sector companies shows potential for growth. In addition, the corporatebond market currently lacks diversity; that is, the majority of bonds are issued bycompanies in the energy/infrastructure-related sectors and banks, and a very few
bonds are issued by companies with low credit ratings. A challenge of particularimportance will be how to help increase issuance by non-financial companies in
the private sector.
While issuer category diversification must be pursued, there is no doubt that
corporate bond issuance is a fundraising method suitable for companies in theenergy and infrastructure-related sectors. In that respect, it is important topromote the growth of corporate bond issuance by them as well.

6.2.1 Increase in the use of the bond market by entities in domestic demand
expansion-related sectors
As Asian countries are now faced with the challenge of reviewing their economic
growth strategies (based mainly on exports to the US and Europe) and of
expanding regional demand, they have to take into consideration of corporatebond market .

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

123Growing domestic demand in individual Asian countries will potentially resultin increased total fundraising. Assuming that bond market development also
progresses further, corporate bond issuance should grow, supported by changes
in fundraising method selection. While growth in corporate bond issuance is
expected to be driven by manufacturing sector companies, the key to market
expansion will be to focus on industrial sectors with already high levels of bondissuance. Sectors that fall under that category (such as the financial services andenergy/infrastructure-related sectors) are heavily involved in domestic demand
growth.
Infrastructure development constitutes a crucial part of investment designed
to help grow domestic demand and accelerate economic growth. Among the various
potential bond issuance types that could be used for such purposes is the projectbond (a bond issued by a business entity engaged in infrastructure developmentthat is characterized by the fact that repayment is funded solely by income earnedin the development project).
It will be essential to emphasize the use of the corporate bond market inpursuing financial system development initiatives aimed at expanding domestic
demand. Such efforts should facilitate the growth of the corporate bond market,
resulting in the synergistic progression of both domestic demand growth andcorporate bond market expansion.
Shown below is our basic idea based on the background discussed above.
Firstly, as a specific approach for using the corporate bond market, each Asian
country should put emphasis on the increased use of the market for the purposeof infrastructure development-related fundraising. In order to support such aneffort, it will be necessary for credit rating agencies to provide risk assessmentof the relevant project, as well as a credit enhancement structure, securitization
methodologies and risk hedging vehicles.
Secondly, each nation must consider devising more efficient ways of bondissuance, based on securitization and other methods, to help the fundraisingefforts by small- to medium-size companies — the key players in domestic demand
growth. In addition, it will be essential to study the promotion of increased
issuance of bonds by entities in the domestic demand-related and services sectors,
in the form of securitized mortgages and credit card receivables, and to consider
how to increase corporate bond investment by institutional investors.
Thirdly, an increasing number of Japanese companies are likely to issue
bonds in non-Japan Asian locations because of the growing need for local
currency fundraising while focusing on Asian countries’ domestic demandrelated businesses. It will be important for the Japanese government to boost its
assistance to such bond issues.

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Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

6.2.2 Market infrastructure and legal/regulatory developments designed tobetter incentivize issuers
The average issuance cost of corporate bonds is high in Asian countries. Issues
related to such issuance cost include: (1) complicated issuance rules; (2) fees tobond underwriters; and (3) changes in issuance conditions that are reliant onmarket efficiency levels.
Firstly, the time period required for issuance approval and the distinction of
public offering and private placement are both cited as issuance rule issues. For
example, according to experts, in the Philippines it takes about three months to
obtain issuance approval for publicly-offered bonds whereas in the case of private
placement bonds (placement with qualified institutional investors totaling 19 orless), the time required is one month or less. While such regulation helps secure
flexibility in issuing private placement bonds, it is an impediment to the increased
issuance of publicly-offered bonds. Besides, being subject to fewer disclosure
obligations, private placement bonds may potentially cause issuer transparency
problems.
Secondly, issuance-related fees and expenses consist of: (1) management fees
including underwriting fees; (2) expenses required for registration with regulatory
authorities and listing (including lawyer’s fees); (3) credit rating fees; (4) expenses
for marketing to investors (including presentations); and (5) taxes. These fees andexpenses differ from one country to another, with some expenses being larger at
the time of initial issuance. The larger the issuance amount, the less the burden,
due to the fixed cost nature of the fees. A high issuance cost discourages issuanceby small- to medium-sized companies and companies with low credit ratings.
Thirdly, the market efficiency issue points to a potential for market
development, which will naturally cause the market participant base to expand.
In particular, in a market with an extensive investor base, issuance conditions
are likely to be relatively favorable to issuers, helping increase the number
of issuances. As for issues involving investors, the following can be cited: (1)institutional investors frequently face investment restrictions arising fromcredit rating levels and the distinction of listed and unlisted names, particularlyin the event of a corporate bond investment by pension funds that have a public
nature; (2) retail investors are typically equity investment-centric without a goodunderstanding of how bonds work as instruments and are provided with a limited
range of products suitable for retail investment. With Asian countries’ domestic
demand expected to grow in the future, coupled with rising income levels,
there should be a substantial potential upside to the total size of investment
by retail investors. Notable in this respect is a platform built by the Singapore
Stock Exchange that allows retail investors to invest in corporate bonds insmall quantities through the exchange listing of such bonds; and (3) for foreign
investors, withholding taxes involved in bond investment quite often represents a

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

125

significant impediment to investment.
Shown below is our basic idea based on the background outlined above.
Firstly, each Asian country must seek to further relax and simplify its
bond issuance regulations, with a particular focus on reducing approval andregistration time, preferably making approval acquisition ultimately unnecessary,as it is in the Hong Kong market.
Nevertheless, it will also be indispensable to ensure high levels of issuer
transparency and reduce investment risk. For instance, while an exemption fromobtaining credit ratings will lower the issuance cost, such exemption should be
limited to cases in which investors are able to fully identify the issuer’s credit
quality.
The way to change public offering and private placement rules probably
differs from one nation to another, yet it will be necessary to create incentives forthe increased issuance of publicly-offered bonds.
Secondly, it will be advisable for each country to help enhance competition
among bond underwriters. While lowering various fees and commissions may
counter much resistance, it will be an important challenge to develop securities
dealers and ensure that the industry environment remains competitive.
Thirdly, each Asian nation must help develop investors through the following
measures:(1) Step up current efforts to develop institutional investors. If investors areable to invest in bonds with low credit ratings through improved investment
management capability and risk control skills, it will have the same effect asenhancing the issuer’s credit and the expansion of the bond issuer base;(2) Attract retail investors to the corporate bond market through initiatives
such as the development of products designed for retail investors and thestrengthening of investor education;(3) Promote increased inward bond investment from abroad by abolishing thewithholding taxes involved in bond investment.

6.2.3 Credit enhancement for improving the issuer’s ability to participate in themarketKey factors that prevents companies from participating in the primary corporatebond market as issuers include small company size and low credit quality.
Therefore, an important step for expanding the bond issuer base will be to help
potential bond issuers’ market participation by means of credit enhancement

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Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

based on the use of credit guarantees and securitization.
One approach to securitization for the purpose of enhancing the credit of acompany, not readily capable of issuing corporate bonds on its own, would be
to issue collateralized bond obligations (CBO) that use a pool of bonds as theunderlying asset. By combining various bonds into a single asset class, it ispossible to diversify risks and create a single bond that meets investor needs.
Besides, if a senior-and-subordination structure and/or third party-provided
credit enhancement are used, the issuer will be able to acquire credit ratings
superior to those that can be acquired by the individual bonds. On the other hand,the securitization of mortgages and credit card receivables is mainly aimed at
improving underlying asset liquidity.
While securitization transactions had been growing in the Asian region as
well prior to the global financial crisis, the crisis led to an erosion of confidence insecuritization and credit rating, resulting in a sharp decline in such securitizationtransactions. However, given that such turmoil did not originate from Asia , itshould be possible to revitalize securitization transactions in the future, while
paying attention to the relevant measures being taken globally, such as thetightening of regulations and the enhancement of information disclosure.
Barriers to the growth of securitization transactions in Asia include the lackof investors with high risk tolerance levels and the limited development of theinfrastructure that is required for transactions. This limited development involves
laws, regulations, tax systems, accounting standards and credit ratings. Specificissues include constraints on the transfer of financial assets, recognition andtaxation arising from the potential profit when assets are transferred, and legal/
accounting rules on special purpose company activities (e.g. true transfer andbankruptcy remoteness).
For example, Indonesia has the issue of double taxation on asset transfer,
making securitization transaction virtually impossible to structure. As for thePhilippines, the building of securitization-friendly system has made little progress
due to the deadlocked discussions between industry experts and the country’s tax
authority regarding a change in the taxation system on asset transfer.
The following illustrates our basic idea based on the background shown above.
Firstly, the newly-established CGIF should provide guarantees that will be
helpful to the development of the corporate bond markets in individual nationsin the region. At the same time, it should maintain its organizational soundness
as well as its own credit rating levels by fully leveraging private sector knowhows. It will also be important to consider raising, in the medium term, the levelof equity participation in the CGIF by its stakeholders and increasing its leverage(guarantee amount divided by equity participation amount).

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives127

In deciding on the scope of the guarantee, infrastructure development-relatedbonds and bonds issued by small- to medium-sized companies should be top priorities.
Infrastructure-related bonds would be appropriate targets for the CGIF’s guarantee
program, in view of the potentially signiﬁcant need for infrastructure development in
Asia going forward (Figure 6-4), as well as the anticipated knock-on effects of suchinfrastructure development on domestic demand expansion and regional growthpromotion. In addition, at a time when investors in both developed countries andthe Asian region are highly interested in Asian investment, and even companies
with relatively low credit ratings are able to issue bonds, it will be advisable
to offer focused fundraising assistance to small- to medium-sized companies(the category with a limited capacity to issue bonds). While the hurdle of BBB
or equivalent/higher may present some challenge, one approach, for example,
would be to use securitization and credit guarantee simultaneously. In coming
years, it would also be worthwhile to reassess the minimum credit rating level
requirements.

Figure 6- 4 Capital needs for infrastructure development in Asia going for ward
(from 2010 to 2020)

Source: ADB and ADBI [2009]

Secondly, there is currently a sufficient level of liquidity in Asia and the
expansion of securitization is not an urgent task. However, it will be essential fornations in the region to explore the possibility of growing diverse securitization
products with the aim of expanding the bond markets and developing fundraisingvehicles from a medium-term perspective. One approach worth studying is to havethe role of originator (or organizer) played by a governmental body in an effort tohelp increase securitization transactions. Also, given the fast pace of progress insecuritization techniques, the ABMI’s various forums, such as the ABMF, must
further deepen relevant research and discussion.
Thirdly, each involved country should help improve company and market
transparency levels — an effort that will have an effect resembling that of credit
enhancement. In order to raise the levels of transparency in corporate bondcredit quality, it will be necessary to: (1) develop securities and exchange laws,

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company laws and bankruptcy laws, thus improving the levels of transparency
in investor rights; and (2) enhance the levels of corporate information disclosure
by developing accounting/auditing standards, a credit rating system, and acredit risk database. If information asymmetry is mitigated through these steps,
companies with relatively high levels of credit risk may potentially be able toissue bonds.
Of particular importance for expanding the corporate bond market will be thedevelopment of the credit rating system. Technical proficiency relating to credit
rating methodologies varies from one country to another, making it necessary
to help raise the levels of less-developed nations. If such efforts enable industry
experts to achieve credit rating harmonization (the establishment of a regional
scale), cross-border transactions will be significantly enhanced.
The development of credit risk-related data will also be important for
promoting increased securitization transactions, as it will have the benefit ofraising underlying asset cash flow forecastability.

6.2.4 The securitization market in Asia: current status and challenges
From the beginning of the 2000s, the securitization market in Asia began to show
increased activity. In particular, in countries like Hong Kong, Japan, Korea andMalaysia, there were significant securitization activities backed by residential
mortgages and commercial real estate as the underlying assets, whereas in Korea
the progress was made in securitization to facilitate banks’ bad loan disposals.
On the other hand, Asian nations other than the above-mentioned ones did not see
any meaningful securitization activity due to the bank-centric financial systems ofeach country and to the lack of securitization-friendly legal system development.
Securitization refers to a process by which assets with similar characteristics
are pooled together and cash flows generated by the pool are divided into different
parts (tranche) according to the risk involved before selling such individual parts
to diversified investors in the market. This process enables the sale of the assets,
and by providing the investor with customized risk-return levels requirements
while also providing significant risk diversification.
For securitized products, credit rating plays a significant role. In asecuritization transaction, the securing of bankruptcy remoteness from theoriginator enables the special purpose company to raise funds based on its
independent credit quality. In addition, the result of the assessment of the cash
flow to be generated by the securitized assets constitutes a major decision making
factor in credit rating. As part of the overall analysis, a scenario analysis isundertaken to assign a credit rating that takes future forecasts into consideration.

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

129

Figure 6-5 Status of key elements needed for securitization in East Asia

Restrictions
Restrictions Taxation and Default andLegal andTaxation orLegal
foreclosure regulatory
licensing on securitization
on types orgainframework
vehicles toterms ofrecognition
and/orimpediments requirements
for creating,issue
financialissuesrepossessione.g.
transferring
multiple
assets thatat level ofbankruptcy
andtranches withcan beindividual
remotenessperfecting
varyingtransferredassetsownershipcharacteristics
interests
China

1-2

1

1

1

1

1

1

Indonesia

2-3

2

2

2

2

2

2

Korea

5

4

3-4

5

5

5

4

Malaysia

5

4

4

3-4

4

4

5

Philippines

2-3

2-3

1-2

2-3

2-3

2-3

2-3

Thailand

3-4

3

3-4

3-4

2-3

4-5

2-3

Hong Kong

5

5

4

5

5

5

5

Singapore

5

5

5

4

5

5

5

Note: Score 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). Scores such as 2-3 represent an intermediate appraisal between two given levels.
These split scores are intended to reﬂect degrees of uncertainty as to commercial outcomes.
Source: World Bank

Asset securitization is a financial process that requires advanced financial
techniques (including legal system development), and further market development
will be required in Asia to utilize such techniques (with the exception of certain
countries). Hence individual Asian nations are now engaged in the following
development initiatives related to laws and regulations.

Figure 6- 6 Enabling legislation and regulation

China

Major bank sector securitization legislation under preparation 2007–08.
(Limited trial deals permitted in 2006–07)

Indonesia

Pre-1997 securitization decrees 2002–03 securities regulator guidelines

The Philippines

2002 Special Purpose Vehicle Act
2004 Securitization Act
2005 Implementing Rules and Regulations over credit rating requirements
and the use of SPVs.

Thailand1997 securitization decree
2003 Asset-backed Securitization Act
2004 Special Purpose Vehicle Act

Source: Lejot [2008]

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Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

Securitization in Asia constitutes a promising market, and the growing
Asian economies may potentially bring about an increased variety and volumeof assets for securitization. To keep up with their increasingly sophisticatedrisk management, financial institutions are expected to step up their initiatives
to develop securitization techniques. In addition, investors are likely to use
securitized products as part of their efforts to diversify their investment vehicles.
Under such circumstances, one significant challenge will be to develop laws
related to securitization. In addition, it will be necessary to strengthen credit
rating agencies’ skills in securitized product credit rating. When addressing thesechallenges, industry experts should actively leverage the regional cooperation
framework, thereby expanding the market in the process.

6.2.5 Fundamental research conducive to the increased number of issuers
Increasingly elaborate research has been conducted on Asian companies’
fundraising activities, particularly after the Asian financial crisis, part of which ishighlighted in Chapter 3.
Firstly, such research has included an agency cost theory-based analysis offundraising structure, performed by using corporate financial statement data.
The results of this analysis concluded that fundraising methods have different
characteristics according to degree of ownership concentration and company type
(listed company, foreign-owned company or conglomerate company).
Secondly, an examination has been undertaken on the relationship among
different fundraising mechanisms (the banking sector, bonds, equity andinternational financial markets) from theoretical and policy perspectives. The
objective of bond market development in the years since the 1997 Asian financial
crisis has been to help reduce Asian economies’ reliance on short-term capital
flows from abroad, while changing the region’s overly bank-dependant financial
systems.
In this way, bank loans and corporate bond issuances are often regarded
as mechanisms that compete with each other and can thus substitute for eachother. This idea, however, is predicated on the assumption of a stable and regulareconomic environment. In the event of a financial crisis, the two mechanisms
occasionally become identified as complementary to each other.
In its Global Financial Stability Report, October 2010 edition, the IMF argued
that, during the global financial crisis, the bond market had served as a “sparetire”, complementing the banking sector. In Asian countries, large companies
increased their corporate bond issuance during the recession to compensate for the
reduced bank loans. Since 2009, India and Korea, in particular, have experienced

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

131the phenomena of the banks’ prime lending rates not easily declining, at a time
when corporate bond issuance coupon rates have been falling significantly, despite
the widening credit spreads.
Of course, this does not mean that the Asian bond market development
initiative has been completed. Future challenges to the corporate bond market
cited by the IMF include the challenge of becoming a viable and deep sourceof funding for ordinary times, and enabling the issuance of corporate bondsby small- to medium-sized companies in particular. Taking the example of theASEAN+3 nations, a comparison of the growth rates from end-1997 to end-2009 ofdomestic credit outstanding (excluding credit provided to the government sector)
to corporate bonds outstanding (including financial institutions bonds), showsthat the latter greatly exceeded the former only in China, the Philippines andThailand (Figure 6-7).

Figure 6-7 Expansion of financial and capital markets

Note: The graph compares increases (times) in outstanding between the end of 1997
and the end of 2009.
Source: IMF, BIS

The following is our basic idea based on the background discussed above.
Firstly, each Asian country should further accumulate research on the Asianfinancial system, including research from the standpoint of an issuer company aswell as research on institutional investors and intermediaries in particular.
Also important is an examination of the role played by the banking sector, amajor force in the Asian financial system. Such examination must be conductedfrom multiple perspectives, and include the banking sector’s lending behavior
coupled with the direction of regulations affecting such behavior, as well as
developments in the interest rate structure. Given that the banks are significant

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Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

issuers, investors and intermediaries in the Asian bond market, it will beinteresting to know how such significance is related to the expansion of corporatebond issuance.
Secondly, a comparison with the financial systems of developed countries, suchas the US and those in Europe, will also be important. Such comparison may
allow industry experts to know what shape the Asian corporate bond market andthe Asian financial system should aim to take.

6.2.6 Moves to help expand the Japanese market
Highlighted below is a review of recent developments in the expansion of theJapanese market itself, conducted to facilitate the contemplation of bond market
expansion in other Asian nations.
Firstly, in view of the contraction of international bond issuances caused by
the onset of the global financial crisis, the Japanese government announced aprogram under which the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) would
provide guarantees up to500 billion yen for Samurai bond issuance by other Asian
nations’ governments. That program is referred to as the MASF (Market Access
Support Facility) (Figure 6-8). Although the JBIC had initially set the guarantee
application deadline at the end of fiscal year 2009, it was later rescinded by
the bank, which led to its decision to continue the provision of guarantees
beyond March 2010. The JBIC also announced a plan to purchase a portion of
Samurai bonds in addition to the provision of partial guarantees for the issuanceof Samurai bonds (GATE: Guarantee and Acquisition toward Tokyo market
Enhancement).
Figure 6- 8 Guarantees for samurai bond by JBIC

IssuerContract date

Guarantee provided

Issuance dateIssue amountIndonesia gov’t

Apr. 2009

1.5 bil USD

Jul. 200935 bil Yen

Colombia gov’t

Nov. 2009

0.8 bil USD

Nov. 200945 bil Yen

Mexico gov’t

Dec. 2009

150 bil Yen

Dec. 2009

150 bil Yen

The Philippines gov’t

Feb. 2010

100 bil Yen

Mar. 2010

100 bil Yen

Note: These are achievements by the MASF, which is predecessor of GATE
Source: JBIC

Secondly, industry experts are now considering creating a TOKYO AIM-based
corporate bond market designed for professional investors. It was the December
2008 enforcement of the revised Financial Instruments and Exchange Act that

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

133enabled the launch of that market creation initiative, whose principal objective
is to remedy many systemic issues persisting in the Japanese corporate bondmarket.
The new market-related action plans include information disclosure
in English, the adoption of international accounting standards, and thesimplification of disclosure review procedures. The potential issuer company
categories consist of those intending to issue domestic publicly-offered bonds,
Euro bonds and Samurai bonds. The launch of the professional investor corporatebond market is likely to help expand cross-border transactions by non-JapaneseAsian issuers and investors, aided by the June 2010 abolition of corporate bondinterest taxation for foreign investors.
Thirdly, a Study Group to Vitalize the Corporate Bond Market has been set
up within the Japan Securities Dealers Association, leading to the holding ofdiscussions on issues facing the publicly-offered bond market. The study grouppublished a report titled “Toward Vitalizing the Corporate Bond Market” on June22, 2010.
Included in the corporate bond market challenges cited by the Japan Securities
Dealers Association, which are related to the establishment of the above
mentioned corporate bond market for professional investors, were the following
issues: (1) promote increased diversification in the types of bonds issued,
including MTN and professional investor market corporate bonds, and simplify
issuance procedures; (2) develop a primary bond market allowing the issuance ofbonds with low credit ratings; (3) increase the number of bond issuable days fromthe current 100 business days or so a year, by reducing information disclosureburdens; and (4) help expand investment from abroad by initiating English
language information disclosure and stepping up investor relations activities.
Fourthly, efforts have been made towards developing Islamic finance products.
The growth of Islamic bonds, usable for various types of fundraising such as
infrastructure development financing, will be crucial for the Asian bond market.
While Islamic finance plays an important role in the government bond andcorporate bond markets of Malaysia (the nation boasting the most advanced levelsof such finance), other Asian countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and Hong
Kong are also seeing increased Islamic finance initiatives.
As for Japan, there is an ongoing initiative to build a framework for enabling
the issuance of Islamic bonds in the country (based on the special purpose trust
system under the Asset Liquidation Act). A tax system measure is likely to betaken as part of the fiscal 2011 tax system reform, with experts expected to start
discussion on the revision of relevant laws needed to build that framework.

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Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

6.3 Promotion of private sector cooperation
The private sector should become increasingly important in giving impetus to
the expansion of the Asian bond market. Growing domestic demand in Asian
countries has presumably given rise to an incentive for proactive private sector
involvement. Shown in Figure 6-9 is a summary of the roles to be played by theprivate sector in the development of the Asian bond market, and these roles
should be specified further going forward.
Figure 6-9 The role of the private sector in Asian bond market development

1. Drivers of market development initiatives(1) Governments, international agencies, international forums(2) Market participants(i) General private sector companies(ii) Market entities (financial institutions, securities exchanges, credit rating
agencies, accountants, analysts, etc.)(3) Consultants, scholars, researchers (think-tanks, universities)

2. The role of the private sector(1) Market expansion...Participation as players (issuers, investors, brokers,
exchanges, etc.), provision and sharing of views, etc.
(2) Technical assistance...Creation of systems, provision of financial technologies(i) Technical assistance from financial institutions, securities analysts,
credit rating agencies, credit guarantee institutions, accountants, tax
accountants, attorneys, etc.
(ii) Formation of catalyst deals and new types of transactions(iii) Education...Development of market professionals, investor education(3) Debate on long-term objectives of ﬁnancial cooperation, PR activities concerning
Asian financial and capital markets, cooperation with various governmentprivate sector initiatives, such as ABMI, ABAC, Nippon Keidanren, etc.
(4) Improvement of basic bond data, basic research (think-tanks, universities, etc.)(5) Development of bond markets in Japan (financial institutions, etc.)
Source: Shimizu [2010]

Proactive private sector activities include the Nippon Keidanren’s proposalof “Regional Monetary and Currency Cooperation” contained in the March 15,2010 Asian Business Summit Joint Statement, as well as the specific initiatives
outlined in the proposal entitled “Promoting Financial Cooperation for a
Prosperous Asia: Supporting Asian Growth Through Regional Bond Markets(March 16, 2010).46 In addition, on December 14, 2010, the Keidanren announced
another proposal, “Seeking to Accelerate Asian Bond Market Development,”a result of the continued regional financial cooperation efforts, in which thebusiness group recommended the following six activities: (1) the development ofinstitutional investors; (2) the development of members at financial regulatory

Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

135

authorities and exchanges; (3) the provision of assistance to the development of
Asian credit rating agencies strong in the provision of credit ratings for Asiancompanies; (4) the promotion of the ABMI; (5) the enhanced use of the Japanesebond market; and (6) the utilization of private sector funds for the purpose ofarea-wide infrastructure development.

Being consistent with the objective of expanding domestic demand in countries in the region
and promoting regional financial integration, the proposal recommends: (1) the developmentof bond and stock markets in each country (development of market infrastructure andderegulation and fostering of market actors); (2) the utilization of private-sector funds for thedevelopment of regional infrastructure; (3) promotion of the active use of the Japanese bondmarkets (making use of the Samurai bond markets and boosting investment of Asian assets
in Japan); (4) currency stability; and (5) medium- to long-term financial cooperation issues
in the East Asian economic community (creation and harmonization of legal systems for bondtrading, harmonization of accounting and other disclosure-related systems, creation andenhancement of credit guarantee functions, preparation of intraregional settlement systems,
enhancement of regional credit rating functions, and expansion of the information-sharing
systems).

46

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Challenges for new Asian financial cooperation initiatives

7

Proposals on Asian financial
cooperation

As mentioned earlier in Chapter 1, this study project has conducted researchand discussion on how the “private sector” can promote financial cooperation.
This chapter summarizes the results in the form of proposals. They focus on thefollowing five points:(1) Step up financial cooperation in the Asian region from the perspective of theprivate sector;(2) Facilitate the development of the emerging Asian market infrastructure and seek
to enable regional financial integration;(3) Vitalize cross-border bond transactions in the region;(4) Promote private sector cooperation;(5)Improve the international competitiveness of the Tokyo market.
Proposals (1) through (3) involve the wider Asian region, including Japan.
These proposals will require public and private sector entities to work closely with
one another to achieve the underlying goals. Proposal (4) aims to help expand
mutual collaboration within the Asian private sector. The last proposal, (5), only
concerns Japan.

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

1377.1 Proposal contents

Private sector-driven initiatives
Proposal 1: Establish an Asian Credit Rating Agency (tentative name; to be abbreviatedas ACRA)
Harmonize credit rating services and standards throughout Asia by establishing an ACRA
Proposal 2: Launch a private-sector version of a peer review for each economy’s bondmarket and establish a framework for handling suggested improvements
At the private-sector level, collate matters related to bond issues and bond investments by
non-residents so as to help establish a framework that promotes institutional reform in eacheconomy
Proposal 3: Promote the development of cross-border products utilizing the Credit
Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF)Work to promote the development and issuing of securitization bonds by helping CGIF withcross-border issues
Proposal 4: Develop Asian corporate bond indices
Develop, publish, and use indices that reﬂect ﬂuctuations in Asian corporate bond markets
so that index-based ﬁnancial products can be provided
Proposal 5: Provide information on cross-border bond investments
Create a system that enables investors to use information on bonds in the region when
making investment decisions

Approach for public sector (international organizations, governments, and public
institutions)
Proposal 6: Create an Asian Corporate Bond Fund (a public–private partnership offering)
Launch as a public–private collaborative fund for Asia that invests in Asian corporate bonds(including those for public infrastructure companies and energy companies)
Proposal 7: Introduce an Asian mutual recognition system (fund passporting) forinvestment trusts
Introduce an Asian mutual certification system for mutual funds, thereby promoting the
integration of mutual fund markets in Asia
Proposal 8: Establish pan-Asian rules for the issuing of medium-term notes (MTNs)
Draw up a draft proposal for the establishment of pan-Asian rules for the issuing of
MTNs based on the findings of a study group made up of experts and private enterpriserepresentatives
Proposal 9: Issue bonds denominated in a basket of Asian currencies
Strive to further develop bond markets by issuing bonds denominated in a basket of Asiancurrencies (starting as a joint initiative with international institutions)
Proposal 10: Enhance the competitiveness of the Japanese bond market
Approach the Financial Services Agency, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Japan, andother public organizations to cooperate more closely on promoting the formulation andimplementation of a policy to improve the functioning of Tokyo as an international ﬁnancial
center and the Japanese bond market

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Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

“Private sector-driven initiatives”
7.1.1 Establish an Asian Credit Rating Agency (tentative name; to be abbreviatedas ACRA)(Proposal )Harmonize credit rating services and standards throughout Asia by establishingan ACRA

It is becoming increasingly important to provide “comparable” credit rating
information in Asia to assist cross-border transactions. One potential approach
would be to reorganize the ACRAA or set up another Asian credit rating agency(provisionally named ACRA) with the cooperation of multiple credit rating
agencies. The new agency would provide credit rating information designed
to assess the credit risk (default risk) of bonds issued in Asia. This approachrequires three steps, the first of which will be the accumulation of historical
data for quantitative analysis. Reliable forecasting of the cumulative default
rates that may actually occur (including the accuracy and reliability of those
rates) will be necessary. This can be done by accumulating the past three to five
years of corporate financial data together with chronological quantitative andevent data on earnings deterioration/improvement. This process will also involvethe modeling of relationship between the main data and defaults, according tocountry, industrial sector, issuer scale and economic environment category. Also
essential will be the accumulation of data required for estimating the rate of loss
(loss rate for the bondholders) in the event of a default (the advanced methodology
used under the Basel II accord is recommended). The second necessary step will
be to foster specialized analysts. Qualitative analysis alone is not sufficient for
credit rating, and an analyst’s own qualitative judgment is required to maintainaccuracy and reliability in forecasted cumulative default rates. Such judgment isalso required to alter a credit rating in an efficient manner. It will therefore be
essential to foster analysts with specialized knowledge on the capital markets,the business environment, and corporate behavior in Asia. The third step in thisapproach will be to solidify the credit rating agency’s financial position, so thatthe organization can be run in a sound manner. A credit rating agency overly
focused on generating credit rating fee revenues tends to lose focus on providing
accurate and timely credit ratings. When a cross-border bond is issued, the use of
the local currency of another regional nation as the issuance currency may resultin a lowering of the credit rating due to the effects of foreign exchange risk. Each
Asian country’s financial regulatory authority should devise measures to overcome
such a challenge. One possibility may be the introduction of a common currency
unit (the Asian Currency Unit, or ACU) for large-sized cross-border bonds.

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

139

When setting up the new credit rating agency (the ACRA) for cross-bordertransactions, it would be helpful to draw on Japan’s experience. The two leading
credit rating agencies in Japan47, which both engage in global-scale credit rating,have developed credit rating methodologies that take into account Japanesecompanies’ financial characteristics and unique business culture (which bearsome similarity to those in other Asian countries). Both Japanese agencies haveacquired techniques for ensuring accuracy and reliability in cumulative default
rates under the Basel II accord, and their wealth of experience can be of greatvalue in establishing the new credit rating agency. Cooperation among Japanesecredit rating professionals and these two agencies is essential to save both money
and time in the reorganization of the ACRAA / creation of a new Asian credit
rating agency (the ACRA).

47

Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) and Rating and Investment Information (R&I).

140

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

7.1.2 Launch a private-sector version of a peer review for each economy’s bondmarket and establish a framework for handling suggested improvements(Proposal)
At the private-sector level, collate matters related to bond issues and bondinvestments by non-residents so as to help establish a framework that promotes
institutional reform in each economy

Bond market development in Asia should involve the cultivation of a growing
issuer base and the fostering of investors, to the degree required by each county’s
current market development. A comprehensive identification of challenges faced
by Japanese-owned companies setting up operations in individual Asian nations’markets, as well as those faced by Japanese investors contemplating investingin such markets, would be helpful when assessing the development levels of
emerging Asian nations’ bond markets. Such research would also facilitate thecrafting of a proposal aimed at enhancing market efficiency and usability.
Already, the ABMI has been attempting to address these challenges throughthe encouragement of awareness sharing among the government officials of eachnation. As part of such information sharing efforts, the ABMI has been providing
technical assistance to individual ASEAN countries’ bond markets, in an effort
to help enhance their development, (TACT of ABMI) while publishing countryby-country bond market reports (reviews). In addition, the ABMI has been using
AMBF meetings as information sharing venues. The AMBF is a group set up
for the purpose of standardizing accepted market practices and harmonizing
regulations relating to cross-border bond transactions in the region.
One potential approach to promoting such efforts would be to comprehensively
identify, on a private company level, challenges for non-resident bond issuanceand bond investment, and to make recommendations on regional cooperation
initiatives performed by the ABMI and other groups. Such an approach will also
involve the communicating of a comprehensive summary of the challenges to local
policymakers. This could be done through business groups in each nation, andwould not only promote system reform but provide technical assistance to thosenations as well.
Example: The above approach could involve the comprehensive and regular
identification of the current status of, and challenges relating to, the following
points. (The items shown below are from Nomura Research Institute, “Researchon the Identification of Barriers to Investment in the EMEAP8 Markets,” 2008 —research commissioned by the Bank of Japan)

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

141

(1) Various regulations
・Foreign exchange regulation: Regulation of foreign exchange transactions
・Capital regulation: Regulation of the acquisition of securities and principal/
income remittance・Credit provision regulation: Regulation of credit provision by domestic banks at
the time of investing・Other(2) Status of legal system development
・Accounting standards: Degree of application of international best practices
・Scope and timeliness of information disclosure: Degree of application ofinternational best practices
・Corporate governance: Degree of application of international best practices
・Credit rating: Scope of credit rating acquisition and confidence in credit rating(3) Tax and financial conditions
・Tax system: Withholding taxes on interest and transaction taxes for foreign
investors
・Procedure: Simplicity of tax application procedures(4) Status of infrastructure development
・Price information: Status of price information provision by the private sector (e.g.
Bloomberg), self-regulatory organizations (e.g. stock exchanges) and the public
sector (e.g. central banks)・Derivatives market: Status of development of hedging vehicles such as foreignexchange derivatives
・Clearing & settlement: Degree of application of international best practices,
including dematerialization, DVP (Delivery Versus Payment) and settlement
cycle shortening(5) Other・Accepted trading practices
・Language barriers
・Regulation transparency

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Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

7.1.3 Promote the development of cross-border products utilizing the Credit
Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF)(Proposal)
Work to promote the development and issuing of securitization bonds by helping
CGIF with cross-border issues

Provision of credit guarantees by the CGIF is expected to help increase thenumber of new corporate bond issuances. This has the potential to resultin increased fundraising in the form of new types of bonds, including asset
securitized products.
Asset securitization in Asia, still underdeveloped, seems to be a highly
promising area. Future economic growth in the region is likely to bring about
increased securitizable assets.
In recent years, rising income levels in Asian countries have led to increased
home purchases, resulting in growing receivables on mortgages that use a homeas collateral. The continuous growth in consumer spending has been accompanied
by increasing spending on credit, resulting in growing credit card receivables heldby banks. Such receivables constitute securitizable assets. A securitized product iscreated by packaging those assets into a pool and using cash flows from the poolas collateral for the payment of principal and interest on a bond.
The CGIF’s credit guarantee program is expected to serve the following three
purposes.
Firstly, the program should help to develop securitization-related systems
in Asia. Still underdeveloped, the Asian securitization market has yet tobe supported by well-developed legal and regulatory systems relating tosecuritization, such as bankruptcy law and commercial law. In addition, due tothe small size of the securitized product market, investors have not invested
actively in that market, and credit rating is also challenging due to the lack of
accumulated data needed for investment decision-making.
Secondly, the CGIF’s credit guarantee program is expected to help promote
cross-border transactions in Asia. An increasingly mutually-dependent
relationship among the region’s real economies will stimulate cross-bordertransactions on assets (the potential underlying assets of securitized products).
This will be accompanied by growing cross-border transactions involving
fundraising with securitized products.

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

143

Thirdly, at the same time as it helps to foster the regional bond market, theguarantee program will also encourage the provision of assistance to small- to
medium-sized companies and development projects in developing nations. To date,the credit guarantee system in Europe and the US has served as a tool for bondmarket development and economic policy implementation. Among the examples of
their guarantee-based financial assistance to small- to medium-sized companies
are the guarantee programs undertaken by the European Investment Fund andthe U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Vehicles used in the past forassisting the economic development of developing countries include bonds issued
using expatriate workers’ remittances as collateral (the securitization of worker
remittances). Already, the issuance of such type of bonds has totaled more than
US$15 billion in countries like Brazil, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Peru andTurkey, with Asian nations also discussing potential issuances.

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Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

7.1.4 Develop Asian corporate bond indices(Proposal)
Develop, publish, and use indices that reflect fluctuations in Asian corporatebond markets so that index-based financial products can be provided

Bond indices have already been used to create a number of investment products.
For example, the Asian Bond Fund (ABF) uses the Asian Bond Index as its
benchmark. The ABF is an exchange-traded bond mutual fund investing in local
currency-denominated bonds issued by the governments and quasi-governmental
agencies of China, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia
and the Philippines. This index is benchmarked to the iBoxx ABF Pan Asia Index
formed and published by the International Index Company Limited (IIC).
The Asia Corporate Bond Index has the following advantages: (1) the index
allows the investor to monitor the movement of the Asian corporate bond markets;(2) the investor is able to compare the bond index’s returns with investment
returns on its own holdings of Asian bond-related financial products; and (3)by using such bond index, fund management companies and other financial
institutions are able to develop financial products for investing in Asian bonds.
At the same time, given the differing levels of development of Asian nations’bond markets, it is not possible to allocate investment simply on the basis of totalbond market capitalization. That is why the iBoxx ABF Pan Asia Index formulates
a tradable index through a modification performed by “taking into accountregulations, legal and financial conditions as well as the trading/settlement
infrastructures of individual markets in consideration of not only market
capitalization but also market liquidity, sovereign credit ratings and market
openness” (quoted from http://www.abf-paif.com/).
The formation of an index like this will help to deepen mutual understandingof the Asian bond market and will represent a step forward in promoting theregional market integration initiative.

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation145

7.1.5 Provide information on cross-border bond investments(Proposal)
Create a system that enables investors to use information on bonds in the region
when making investment decisions

In recent years, due in particular to the persistently low interest rates acrossthe globe, not only institutional investors but also retail investors have been
increasingly shifting their investments to bonds. Since the start of 2009, Asia
has experienced a significant pickup in corporate bond issuance, reflecting a shift
from indirect financing to direct financing. This phenomenon has been observed
since the global financial crisis.
Against this background, some Asian stock exchanges have been developing
their own systems for providing bond trading information. The enhancement ofbond market information is recognized as a significant challenge by the Thai
Bond Market Association, Singapore Stock Exchange, Indonesia Stock Exchange
and Philippines Stock Exchange, and a certain amount of progress has beenachieved in this area. As for the ADB, the bank has already been providing dataon different Asian nations’ bond markets through the Asian Bonds Online website.
Under such circumstances, latent investment demand could be tapped into if
the bond market information of each nation is combined before it is provided as
investment information. It will be particularly important to send out investment
information conducive to vitalizing cross-border transactions.
First of all, we would like to recommend the introduction of the broker-tobroker system for providing intermediary services for regional cross-bordertransactions. Such a system will help promote cross-border transactions with highlevels of transparency by serving intermediation functions for bond transactions
between different dealers based in the region. This should be accompanied by theoffering of bond information and trading price information, a service that will be
provided in collaboration with individual exchanges.
Going forward, industry experts should seek to build a bond market with highlevels of transparency. This will involve the publishing of price information basedon an integrated consolidation of Asian bond market information.

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“Approach for public sector (international organizations,
governments, and public institutions)”
7.1.6 Create an Asian Corporate Bond Fund (a public–private partnershipoffering)(Proposal)
Launch as a public–private collaborative fund for Asia that invests in Asian
corporate bonds (including those for public infrastructure companies and energy
companies)

The establishment of the Asia Corporate Bond Fund, an advanced version of the
Asia Bond Fund (ABF2), will promote the vitalization of cross-border corporatebond transactions while allowing industry experts to develop new investment
outlets.
Figure 7-1

ABF3 (Corporate Bond Fund: a public–private partnership offering)

As shown by its name, the Asia Corporate Bond Fund is a fund for investingin corporate bonds issued by companies in the Asian region (including public
enterprises). In making investment, the fund will take into consideration suchfactors as the advantages, liquidity and safety of the targeted securities. In
doing so, the fund will seek to broaden the bond investor base and foster thegrowth of the market through increased market liquidity. In addition, the Asia
Corporate Bond Fund is likely to help improve the quality of various intermediary

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

147

institutions by using the services of Asia-based investment managementcompanies, index creators and regional credit ratings. Shown below are thecharacteristics of the Asia Corporate Bond Fund.
Firstly, the Asia Corporate Bond Fund represents a private-sector initiativethat will be undertaken jointly with different Asian nations’ state governments
and central banks as well as international institutions. It will be launched as aregional public-private sector joint project. Unlike the ABF2, which was createdas a public sector-driven project, the Asian Corporate Bond Fund will be able tohelp further enhance mutual understanding among different market participants
and improve access for regional investors in an efficient manner.
Secondly, regional scales will be employed for credit ratings used in fundmanagement and index formation. Since the scope of investment outlets andinvestors is assumed to be mainly confined to those in Asia, regional scale-based
credit rating standards will be applied by the credit rating agencies involved.
Thirdly, the fund will introduce a system in which securities registrations
made in the country of fund creation are mutually recognized in the region(commonly referred to as a “Fund Passporting” system). Under the region’s mutualfund registration system, such mutual recognition will be promoted with the aimof soliciting participation by a broad range of investors, enhancing local investors’
investment capability and helping establish cooperation amongst regional
investors.
Fourthly, the Asia Corporate Bond Fund will actively use the CGIF program
to enhance its investability (investors and investment outlets). By utilizing the
CGIF program, scheduled to be launched in 2011, it will become possible to tap
into diverse issuer demand and encourage investors to actively invest in corporate
bonds of companies with low name recognition in the region. An accumulation of
information on such issuers will lead to improved credit rating quality.
Fifthly, with the aim of fostering the corporate bond market, technicalassistance will be provided through international institutions. With regard to thefostering of the corporate bond markets in Asia, focus is placed on implementing
technical assistance programs from a private sector perspective. International
institutions will be requested to shoulder part of the burden of technicalassistance.

The inclusion of public-private sector cooperation-type ABF3 in the investment
universe for central banks’ foreign reserves and sovereign wealth funds should
help accelerate the development of the Asian corporate bond market. At the sametime, such inclusion will contribute to the financial system stabilization policy
efforts.

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Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

7.1.7 Introduce an Asian mutual recognition system (fund passporting 48 ) forinvestment trusts49(Proposal)
Introduce an Asian mutual cer tification system for mutual funds, thereby
promoting the integration of mutual fund markets in Asia

We recommend the introduction of the Fund Passporting in Asia. The Fund
Passporting concept consists of three significant components: (1) the Fund
Passporting system will enable industry experts to foster and enhance thefinancial/securities markets through the creation of a domestic and crossborder fund industry (industry involved with fund business, including fundmanagement company operation); (2) the system will facilitate the channeling ofregional personal savings to regional investment; and (3) it will help enhance thespecialized skills of intermediary institutions based in the region.
When specifically promoting the Fund Passporting system, it must be notedthat the system is not meant to be a final framework or the end product ofcontinuous efforts towards regulatory harmonization between two countries.
Instead, the system must be identified as a process for integrating Asia’s
fragmented mutual fund markets by stages. To do so, it will be necessary to
promote the Fund Passporting system while ensuring that the same future vision
is shared among different nations during the process of multilateral discussion.
At the same time, consideration must be given to the different levels of mutualfund market development in the individual countries in the region, as well as totheir different levels of securities regulation. Also required will be agreementson securities registration, disclosure, product suitability and investor protection,
among others, involving working level officials and ensure collaboration among
different regulatory authorities.

For the detail of fund passporting, see the column in section 6.1.3.
This proposal was prepared by drawing on the presentation given at the APEC Bond Market
Development Forum (May 2010)

48
49

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

149

7.1.8 Establish pan-Asian rules for the issuing of medium-term notes (MTNs)(Proposal)
Draw up a draft proposal for the establishment of pan-Asian rules for the issuingof MTNs based on the findings of a study group made up of experts and private
enterprise representatives

Currently, any prospective MTN issuer in Asia is subject to supervision by
regulatory authorities in each country’s bond market. This is because such issuance
will represent an issuance of a local currency-denominated bond in each nation.
However, for the purpose of achieving the consistent development of cross-borderbond transactions in Asia overall, it will be necessary to prescribe independentissuance rules at the pan-Asian level. This will need to be accompanied by thereassessment of each country’s regulations in the light of such rules.
While one approach currently available is to standardize different systems
and harmonize regulations through the ABMF’s activities, it will be helpful to
set up a study group composed of industry experts and private sector company
officials of a country that has experience in issuing MTNs. The setting up of sucha group should be followed by discussion concerning the promotion of regulatory
harmonization, the desirable state of standardization, and self-imposed
regulation.

150

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

7.1.9 Issue bonds denominated in a basket of Asian currencies(Proposal)
Strive to fur ther develop bond markets by issuing bonds denominated ina basket of Asian currencies (starting as a joint initiative with international
institutions)

The increase in assets held by the ABF2 after its listing on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange has pointed to a need for products with diversified currency risk.
Taking this account, we recommend issuing ACU-denominated bonds as a productwith increased liquidity.
It must be noted, however, that the issuance of ACU-denominated bonds poses
many challenges.
Firstly, as the issuance will be undertaken in the form of an ACU-denominatedbond in the offshore market, the lack of currency internationalization will present
significant obstacles. Yet as seen in the action taken for RMB-denominated bonds
involved with the ABF2, sanctioning cross-border transactions based on thespecial treatment granted to such currency is an option. Such sanctioning will
potentially prompt a move toward full-fledged capital account liberalization.
Secondly, while the underlying assets to be used consist of Asian nations’government bonds, governmental agency bonds and corporate bonds, among
others, it will also be possible to include loan receivables held by financial
institutions based in the region and asset-backed securities (ABSs). It will be
desirable to unify legal requirements and standards for the assessment of thecredit quality of underlying assets. In other words, as part of the preparation for
creating ACU-denominated bonds, it will be necessary to develop and harmonize
the market infrastructures of the individual nations involved, while securing theprice transparency of their underlying assets.
Presumably, these challenges will be overcome with the private sector ’s
creative efforts and its cooperation with the public sector. One initial step forlaying the groundwork for addressing such challenges would be to create funds
based on securities of multiple Asian currencies. The Public-Private Sector
Cooperation-type ABF3 mentioned in Proposals 6 is a good example of such an
initiative.
That said, as it will take time for the ACU to gain the confidence of investors
after its composition, international institutions, among others, should take aleadership role in issuing ACU-denominated bonds. In addition, any discussion on

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation151

currency basket-denominated bonds should be accompanied by discussion on theforeign exchange system, because it constitutes one of the key factors that need
to be taken into account when formulating an outlook on the future of the Asianbond market.

152

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

7.1.10 Enhance the competitiveness of the Japanese bond market(Proposal)
Approach the Financial Services Agency, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank ofJapan, and other public organizations to cooperate more closely on promoting
the formulation and implementation of a policy to improve the functioning ofTokyo as an international financial center and the Japanese bond market

In addition to the important role it plays in regional financial cooperation, Japanis faced with the significant challenge of developing its domestic bond market andencouraging non-Japanese Asian issuers and investors to use that market more
actively.
Such efforts currently underway include: (1) the granting of guarantees by theJapan Bank for International Cooperation concerning the issuance of Samurai
bonds by Asian nations’ governments; (2) the setting up of the Study Group to
Vitalize the Corporate Bond Market by the Japan Securities Dealers’ Association;and (3) discussion on the establishment of a TOKYO AIM-based corporate bondmarket designed for professional investors.
Such efforts must be accompanied by further development of the corporatebond market. Given that bond issuers and investors choose markets based onsuch factors as issuance cost, investment returns and convenience (market
infrastructure and regulation), further development will make Japanese market
more attractive to encourage overseas issuers and investors.
Firstly, the steady progress achieved in financial system development in the
Asian region has resulted in increasing competition among different markets.
Under such circumstances, it is necessary for the relevant ministries and agencies
of Japan (i.e. the Financial Services Agency, the Ministry of Finance, and the
Bank of Japan) to promote, via strong policy decision, the development of amarket which is friendly for overseas issuers and investors, through enhanced
collaboration among such governmental organizations. Other important actions
include: the enhancement of public relations activities pertaining to the Japanesemarket; the initiative to encourage non-Japanese Asian companies to issue bonds
in Japan and list their shares on the Japanese stock exchanges; and the provisionof preferential treatment to overseas investors.
Secondly, it is imperative that the Japanese economy and market gain
unrivaled appeal for overseas market participants. It will be important toleverage Japanese market size superiority (the extensive base of companies
and retail investors). The most crucial issue is that of “Japanese investors (inProposals on Asian financial cooperation

153

particular, institutional investors) being conservative,” an issue often cited bymarket participants. Japanese retail investors, in particular, have total financial
asset holdings of approximately 1,450 trillion yen, but their holdings in corporate
bonds amount to a mere 2 trillion yen or so. This alone should constitute acompelling reason to promote corporate bonds and related products designed forretail investors, including bonds issued by non-Japanese Asian entities. In order
to increase demand for the Japanese yen and promote increased cross-bordertransactions, it will be essential to enhance regional real economic integration.
Japan must create an environment in which Asian issuers need to raise funds inJapanese yen in connection with their real economic activities.
Thirdly, in the medium term, it will be desirable to have Asian currencydenominated bonds issued in the Japanese market. For that to materialize,
increased efforts must be made toward currency internationalization andimproved market infrastructure, a prerequisite for such situation.
Fourthly, during the process of making the above-mentioned efforts, it will beessential to maintain consistency with regional financial cooperation initiatives.
Currently, progress is being made in the regional initiative for promoting
increased cross-border transactions. That initiative is taking a bottom-up
approach designed to harmonize individual countries’ markets with due regard
to each market’s specific features. Japan, for its part, must seek to develop its
own market as a member of the Asian community and offer as much cooperationas possible to the ABMF’s initiative, in good recognition of its progress. In otherwords, what Japan needs to do is strike a balance between competition andcooperation with other Asian nations.
Specifically, it will be important to use the Japanese market for promoting
Asian regional financial integration. The goal of such an initiative is to build amarket that is receptive to the introduction of a framework for harmonizationand mutual recognition. Japan will need to solve the various issues facing theJapanese market itself, mentioned earlier, and bring about the necessary change
and harmonization in laws, regulation and market infrastructure (in particular,
relaxation of cross-border transaction-related regulation and improvement in its
effectiveness, efficiency and transparency).
As industry experts seek to establish “Asian standards,” the Japanesemarket is expected to offer a role model for other Asian markets. However, theassumption of such a role will only become possible after thorough investigationof the circumstances of individual nations’ markets in the region and the settingof a desirable direction. In this sense, it is worthwhile to monitor the progress of
the ABMF Sub-Forum 1’s ongoing investigation into the systems of each country.

154

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

7.2 Future outlook
As emerging Asian economies continue to grow, rapid progress is being made in
the development of the regional financial/capital markets, which would set these
economies apart from the rest of the world. First, emerging Asia is the only region
where financial markets in the region are experiencing a rapid real economydriven expansion and development. Financial markets are intermediating between
strong demand for funds, fueled by the fast-growing economy, and a massive
supply of funds—including the pool of personal savings in the region—that alsofuels the demand for more investment products. Second, increasing use of regional
currencies in regional flows of funds reflects the increasingly interconnectedeconomies in the region. This makes it necessary to promote financial cooperationfrom a private-sector perspective in order to develop local-currency bond markets
and deepen regional financial integration.
While a wide range of proposals are made by this study report, the key
issue will be how to translate such proposals into action in a timely manner.
Some positive, but limited results have already been achieved by public sector
initiatives, such as those undertaken by the ABMI of the ASEAN+3, the ABF of
the EMEAP, and APEC. In addition, private sector entities actively participatingin those initiatives will likely help accelerate the speed of Asian bond market
development and integration.
A particular issue that came to light during this study was the fact thatthe circumstances of Asian nations are not taken into account by global credit
rating agencies. These agencies do not take account of the differences between
western and Asian markets when crafting their ratings criteria benchmarks.
This is an issue that will need to be tackled by, importantly, introducing credit
rating standards of the Asian region. While credit rating has a direct effect onbond issuance cost and is used as an important standard for investment decisionmaking, it also plays a significant role in financial product development andfinancial institutions’ risk management. Credit rating is expected to serve thefunction of helping to price risk through estimating the probability of default. In
the interviews conducted during this study, many Asian working-level experts
echoed the belief that the standardization of credit rating benchmarks in the
Asian region will constitute a key element of Asian bond market development andintegration.
One other issue revealed as important by this study was the fact that rising
private sector funding demand, driven by fast-growing Asian economies, isresulting in a substantial increase in new corporate bond issuances, in value
terms, within the Asian region. Such issuances grew by 5.7 percent in the third
quarter of 2010 compared with a year earlier. As for the issuer breakdown,a significant proportion is made up by the financial services sector, theinfrastructure development sector, and the consumer goods sector, pointing to

Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

155

the strong fundraising needs of firms in these sectors. In particular, Indonesianand Singaporean corporate bond markets are characterized by growing levels ofinvestment by overseas investment funds. This is a phenomenon worthy of note,
given that such increased market participation by overseas investors, coupledwith improved market liquidity, has resulted from market opening initiatives
undertaken by the governments in these countries.
Looking toward the future of Asian bond markets, the development of corporate
bonds will represent a serious challenge. The CGIF was set up as part of theeffort to further improve the market infrastructure that facilitates corporate bondissuance. Toward the same goal, the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum (ABMF) has
been using increasingly sophisticated strategies aimed at developing the market
through public-private collaboration. In order to assist such efforts further, it will
be important to conduct “market development assistance by the market” on theback of enhanced public-private collaboration.
Based on the needs of both Asian issuers and investors, this study recommends
the establishment of an Asian Corporate Bond Fund as a public-private
collaborative project. Without translating many of the proposals of this report into
action, the establishment of the new corporate bond fund will not be possible. Its
creation is thus of great significance.
The Asian Corporate Bond Fund has as its objective to build Asia into a moresignificant investment destination and develop Asian bond markets. Such a task
will involve a multitude of efforts, including the introduction of Asian region
credit rating standards, the creation of Asian corporate bond indices, and theintroduction of the fund passport system. Through the use of the credit guarantee
function of the CGIF, the Asian Corporate Bond Fund will enable industry
players to identify and serve new issuance needs that exist in the region—by
avoiding potential moral hazards—and to accumulate credit data in the process.
This corporate bond program will also facilitate the issuance of corporate bonds
by Japanese-owned companies with operations in emerging Asian /economies.
Furthermore, it will provide Japanese investors with increased investment
opportunities. Finally, this program can contribute to developing countries with
underdeveloped markets through the provision of technical assistance.
The Inaugural Asia Business Summit, held in March 2010 with the wide
participation of top Asian business leaders, discussed the importance of bondmarket development with a particular focus on the issue of credit ratings. In orderto further raise the awareness of such issues in Asia, industry experts should
actively make proposals, based on this study report, to the 2nd Asia Business
Summit to be held in 2011. The Asian business community must take concerted
and early action to promote the development of Asian bond markets and regional
financial integration.
End

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Proposals on Asian financial cooperation

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Reference: List of visited destinations in Asian countries

As part of this study project, the author visited eight non-Japanese Asian
countries (Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Malaysia
and the Philippines) over the period from October 18 to November 9, 2010. The
author hereby wishes to express his deep gratitude to those persons visited during
the tour who contributed insights and ideas to this report through discussion withthe author.

Shown below is a list of the places visit.
■ Thailand
10/19 Thai Rating & Information Service
10/19 JSCCID (Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking)10/19 Bangkok Bank
10/20 Thai Bond Market Association
10/20 Bank of Ayudhya PCL■ Hong Kong
10/21 Hong Kong Monetary Authority
10/22 Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited■ Korea
10/25 Korea Capital Market Institute10/25 Daiwa Capital Markets (Seoul Branch)
10/26 Federation of Korea Industry
10/26 Korea Rations Corporation
10/26 Shinhan Financial Group■ Singapore
10/28 Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd
10/28 State Street Global Advisors
10/29 PSA Corp Ltd
10/29 Daiwa Capital Markets Singapore Limited
10/29 United Overseas Bank
10/29 Singapore Exchange Limited161

■ India
10/28 Bank of India
10/28 National Stock Exchange
10/29 ICRA Limited
10/29 Daiwa Capital Markets India Private Limited
10/29 Religare Asset Management■ Indonesia
11/1 PT. Bank Permata Tbk
11/1 PEFINDO(PT Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia)
11/2 KADIN (The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
11/2 Indonesia Stock Exchange■ Malaysia
11/3 Rating Agency Malaysia Berhard
11/3 AMMB Holdings Bhd
11/3 CIMB■ The Philippines
11/5 Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation
11/5 Japan-Philippines Economic Cooperation Committee (PEX, Trust Office
Association, the Fund Managers Association of the Philippines, Philrating,
Bankers Association, ALCANTRA Group)
11/5 Asian Development Bank
11/5 San Miguel Corporation
11/8 Bank of the Philippine Islands

162

Asian Bond Markets Development andRegional Financial Cooperation
Study Group Report(Project Leader: Masahiro Kawai)
February 2011
The 21st Century Public Policy InstituteKeidanren Kaikan 19th Floor,
1-3-2, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0004
Tel: +81-3-6741-0901
Fax: +81-3-6741-0902
URL: http://www.21ppi.org/

Errata

Incorrect

Correctline 7 from theA series of new credit rating agencies were set up outside ofA series of new credit rating agencies were set up outside ofbottom of page

the US, and the number of credit rating agencies in the world

the US, and the number of credit rating agencies in the world26

totaled 112 (in 46 countries/economies). Among them, 38

totaled 113 (in 46 countries/economies). Among them, 39

agencies are located in Asia (15 countries/economies).

agencies are located in Asia (15 countries/economies).

0 in 2001

1 in 2001

page 27

Thailand(1)＜1993＞

Thailand(2)＜1993＞

ThailandThai Rating & Information Services Co.Ltd(TRIS)※＜1993＞

TRIS rating Co.Ltd※＜1993＞

page 26
Figure 2-10

Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Ltd. ＜2001＞
page 27

38 rating agencies

39 rating agencies

line 13 fromAt the time of and after establishing local credit rating

At the time of and after establishing local credit rating

the top of pagebusiness, a total of 14 Asian credit rating agencies received

business, a total of 15 Asian credit rating agencies received

28

assistanceassistance

15 countries

and/orequityparticipation

from

other

and/orequityparticipation

from

other

international credit rating agencies such as Moody's, S&P,

international credit rating agencies such as Moody's, S&P,

Fitch, R&I and JCR.

Fitch, R&I and JCR.