East Asia currency bonds growth slows to 5.5%

MANILA, Philippines — The Asian Development Bank says growth in local currency bond markets in emerging East Asia has slowed down in the third quarter to 5.5 percent.

Despite uncertainties surrounding the European economies and slowdown in Asia’s economic growth, the development bank said in its latest report Tuesday that the region’s low debt levels, strong economic  fundamentals and the yield compared to bonds in developed markets still makes the local bonds attractive.

China has the largest local currency bond market in emerging East Asia with $3.2 trillion in bonds outstanding at the end of September, while Vietnam was the fastest-growing local currency bond market in the third quarter, expanding 22.2 percent on year to $17 billion.