Fully functioning local currency bond markets have been an aspiration in Asia for decades, with the dangers of relying on offshore US dollar funding brought into stark relief back in the dark days of the Asia financial crisis in the late 1990s. Prior to the onset of the crisis, the Asian economy was booming. Who could resist the attraction of the so-called Tiger economies? Asian companies grew fat as money flowed into the region from speculative offshore investors. The region’s financial market was built on sand. And, as defaults began to...Read more