亚洲本币债券市场吸引国际投资者

Global investors are buying into the booming Asian local-currency bond market, seeking out the high yields being offered from Indonesia to Sri Lanka and betting on currency appreciation, too.

全球投资者正在投资亚洲欣欣向荣的本币债券市场，试图分享从印度尼西亚到斯里兰卡等国发行的本币债券所能提供的高收益率，同时押注这些国家的货币能够升值。

The debt is attracting international money managers, such as BlackRock Inc., keen to improve their returns and diversify their portfolios.

亚洲本币债券正在吸引贝莱德(BlackRock Inc.)等迫切希望提高投资回报、实现投资对象多样化的跨国性资产管理公司。

Asian corporate bonds in the J.P. Morgan Asia Credit Index yield some 2 percentage points more than bonds issued in developed Western countries, analysts say. While the index measures dollar-denominated debt, investors say it also is a good gauge for local-currency markets.

分析师称，摩根大通亚洲信贷指数(J.P. Morgan Asia Credit Index)所涵盖的亚洲公司债，其收益率比西方发达国家发行的债券高约两个百分点。虽然该指数衡量的是美元计价债券，但投资者说它也是衡量本币债券市场的一项可靠指标。

The increased demand from foreign investors has helped push issuance to a record high, as both companies and governments take advantage of the greater appetite. Sales of local-currency bonds in Asia, excluding Japan, have reached $520.9 billion this year, compared with the previous record of $482.0 billion in 2011, according to data provider Dealogic.

外国投资者需求增加也助推该地区本币债券的发行量创出历史新高，因为无论是企业还是政府都在利用投资者越来越大的胃口。数据提供商Dealogic的数据显示，今年亚洲（不含日本）本币债券的发售规模已经达到5,209亿美元，而2011年这一数字只有4,820亿美元。

Of the deals this year, $444.6 billion were for corporate bonds. The vast majority of those were investment grade, rated above BB+ or the equivalent. Some 7%, or $37.5 billion, were for sovereign debt and the rest were for government-backed agencies.

在今年的亚洲本币债券交易中，4,446亿美元的资金买入的是公司债。绝大部分公司债为投资级，即评级在BB+以上或具有同等评级的产品。约7%即375亿美元的资金买入的是主权债，其余则购买了政府支持机构的债券。

About 60% of a 1.5 billion yuan ($238.6 million) bond sold by China Development Bank in Hong Kong in July went to investors outside Asia, according to people familiar with the deal.

据知情人士说，中国国家开发银行(China Development Bank)今年七月在香港发行的人民币15亿元（约合2.386亿美元）债券中，约有60%被非亚洲投资者买走。

In Indonesia, more than a third of a 271 billion rupiah ($28.3 million) deal sold by automotive sales company PT Indomobil Wahana Trade went to foreign investors, according to underwriters. This compares with participation rates in the single digits for bonds sold earlier in the year.

据承销商透露，在印度尼西亚，汽车销售商PT Indomobil Wahana Trade发行的2,710亿印尼盾（约合2,830万美元）债券中，超过三分之一被外国投资者买走。这和今年早些时候发行的债券只有个位数的参与率形成鲜明对比。

'Now we are actually seeing a lot of funds in Europe and in the U.S. looking to participate in Asian currencies and credits,' says James Fielder, HSBC's head of local currency syndicate for Asia.

汇丰(HSBC)亚洲本币债券承销团业务主管菲尔德(James Fielder)说，现在我们确实看到欧美有大量资金希望参与到亚洲汇市和债市中来。

Eric Stein, global fixed-income portfolio manager at Eaton Vance EV +0.82% Investment Managers which has $198.2 billion of assets under management, says he recently bought Sri Lankan sovereign debt, mostly due to the high yields and prospects for currency appreciation.

投资管理机构Eaton Vance的全球固定收益投资组合经理斯坦因(Eric Stein)说，他最近买入了斯里兰卡主权债，主要是看好其高收益以及货币升值的前景。Eaton Vance管理的资产规模达1,982亿美元。

Yields on even short-term debt are in the double digits.

即便是短期债券的收益率也达到了两位数。

'It's a good reform story,' Mr. Stein says. 'It's not a perfect country, but in a world of very low yields, it's certainly an attractive place to invest.'

斯坦因说，这是一个很好的改革题材，斯里兰卡并非一个完美的国家，但在全球收益率都很低的情况下，斯里兰卡毫无疑问是一个很吸引人的投资所在。

After decades of civil war, Sri Lanka's economy has been on a road to recovery, and is expected to rise about 8% this year.

数十年的内战之后，斯里兰卡经济已经走在复苏的道路上，外界预计该国今年的经济增长率能达到约8%。

In the past, Eaton Vance had mostly protected itself against movements in the Sri Lankan rupee, but over recent months it decided to boost its exposure to the currency. Many analysts believe the currency will appreciate thanks the remittances by nonresident Sri Lankans and rising tourism revenues, further bolstering returns on the bonds.

过去，为了避免斯里兰卡卢比币值波动带来的风险，Eaton Vance多数时候对这一币种的投资规模并不大。但在最近几个月它决定提高对斯里兰卡卢比的风险敞口。许多分析师认为，得益于非斯里兰卡居民的汇款以及该国旅游业收入的上升，斯里兰卡卢比将会升值，并进一步提高该国债券的回报率。

The move to issue more local-currency bonds, in addition to dollar-denominated debt, is a boon for Asian companies, which have been trying to diversify their funding sources as bank loans have become scarcer and more expensive. Some of the region's governments, keen to reduce foreign exchange risk, have also increasingly moved to fund their deficits domestically by selling this type of debt.

在美元计价债券之外发行更多本币债券对亚洲企业来说是一件好事。随着银行贷款愈发稀缺且贷款成本越来越高，亚洲企业也一直在试图分散资金来源。由于渴望降低外汇风险，该地区部分国家政府也开始逐渐转向发行本币债券以便在国内为预算赤字融资。

BlackRock is buying Indian local-currency government bonds and high-quality corporate debt, said Neeraj Seth, managing director and head of Asian credit for the asset management firm, which manages US$3.67 trillion.

贝莱德董事总经理兼亚洲信贷主管赛斯(Neeraj Seth)说，贝莱德正在买入印度发行的以本国货币计价的政府债以及高质量公司债。贝莱德管理的资产规模达3.67万亿美元。

Many emerging-market investors still prefer to hold the bulk of their portfolio in dollar-denominated debt because policies on currency controls can change quickly. Earlier this summer, Indonesia's central bank restricted the availability of dollars, effectively blocking investors from taking their money out of the country.

很多新兴市场投资者仍然愿意将投资组合中的大部分以美元计价债券的形式持有，因为外汇管制政策可能变得很快。今夏早些时候，印尼央行限制了美元的兑换，有效地阻止了投资者从该国撤走资金。

Despite the potential for high returns, some investors are concerned that the risks may not be worth the possible rewards.

尽管可能会有高回报，但一些投资者担心可能的回报也许无法同风险相匹配。

Some individual investors are borrowing heavily to buy these local-currency bonds, says Gary Dugan, chief investment officer for Asia and the Middle East at wealth manager Coutts & Co.

财富管理公司Coutts & Co.亚洲及中东首席投资长杜根(Gary Dugan)说，一些个人投资者为购买这些本币债券而大量举债。

If bond prices start to fall, the unwinding of these leveraged bets could have a snowball effect on the market. Mr. Dugan warns that Asian bond prices could weaken by 10% to 12% if the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury were to rise by 1 to 1.5 percentage point. Bond prices move inversely to yield.

如果债券价格开始下跌，这些杠杆率很高的投资者卖出持有的债券可能会在市场上产生滚雪球效应。杜根告诫说，如果10年期美国国债收益率上升1至1.5个百分点，那么亚洲债券价格可能会跌10%至12%。债券价格和收益率呈反向运动。

'If things were to crack, what tends to happen is that liquidity dries up. And it's going to dry up in local currency a lot quicker than dollar bonds,' Mr. Dugan says.

达根说，如果情况变糟，往往会发生流动性枯竭的情况，相比美元债券，本币债券流动性枯竭的速度要快得多。