Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) — Global credit markets are sending off one of the clearest signals yet that investors are looking past geopolitics.
At least 10 borrowers in Asia — including Japan’s Resona Bank Ltd. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. — were marketing notes in the US currency Tuesday, the most in a single day since September. That’s after Monday emerged as the best day for the market in a year, with global dollar bond sales raising a combined $61 billion.
High-grade dollar corporate bonds globally yield about 4.8%, according to a Bloomberg index. Borrowing costs have barely budged despite an increase in geopolitical risks following the shock capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro by the US military over the weekend.
The issuance surge highlights confidence in the global economy at the start of the year, a period that is typically one of the busiest for funding by companies and governments. Borrowers are locking in deals early, with investment‑grade credit spreads still near historic lows amid broadly solid corporate fundamentals.
Twenty issuers, including Japan’s two biggest banks — Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. – sold notes on Monday in the US high-grade debt market that garnered bids of more than three times the issuance size on average. Saudi Arabia also raised $11.5 billion in an offering.
“Demand is still pretty robust and Asia’s economic environment is relatively benign,” said Omar Slim, co-head of Asia fixed income at PineBridge Investments. “We could see a little bit of spread widening here and there just because of where levels are and because of issuance, but I don’t see a base case for substantially wider spreads.”
Morgan Stanley strategists have predicted more than $2 trillion in US investment-grade debt sales to hit the market this year. That’s expected to be driven by companies’ AI expansion projects, refinancing of looming maturities and acquisition financing.
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