The Asian Bond Fund, which will be launched soon, will help foster financial stability in the region through the development of the Asian debt market.
Readers are aware of the agreement reached earlier this month among the eleven EMEAP member central banks and monetary authorities to launch and invest in an Asian Bond Fund. The Fund, which will have an initial size of US$1 billion, will invest in a basket of US dollar denominated bonds issued by Asian sovereign and quasi-sovereign issuers in EMEAP economies (other than Japan, Australia and New Zealand). The Bank for International Settlements will be responsible for managing the Fund in a passive style, in accordance with a specific benchmark. The EMEAP Group will also form an Oversight Committee to monitor the performance of the Fund.
One clear objective of this initiative is the development of the debt market in Asia. As a channel of financial intermediation, the debt market in the Region has been underdeveloped. As a result the important function of channelling savings into investments - a process that is crucial to economic growth and development - has been overly dependent upon the banking and equity markets. This relative lack of diversity in financial intermediation also raises questions about efficiency and stability of the financial system, to the extent that there is now consensus on the need for government involvement in promoting debt market development in Asia.
The eleven EMEAP central banks and monetary authorities share this view and have in their own ways made significant efforts in the development of the debt markets in their own jurisdictions. In Hong Kong, for example, a genuine effort started in 1990 with the issue of Exchange Fund paper, which has now developed into a programme of weekly issues of paper with maturity ranging from three months to ten years. A benchmark yield curve for Hong Kong dollar debt is thus created in the process, together with an advanced market infrastructure, comprising a market making system and a debt clearing system that is linked to the real time payment system. While these national initiatives are slowly bearing fruit, with financial liberalisation encouraging the globalisation of financial markets, it is increasingly felt that the efforts in debt market development should usefully be extended to the regional dimension. It has widely been recognised that the efficiency of regional financial intermediation is low in Asia, with the bulk of Asian savings funding the balance of payment deficits of developed economies. To the extent that some of these savings find their way back to Asia, they are largely in the form of foreign portfolio flows and short-term banking credits, which present risks to financial stability.
The EMEAP Asian Bond Fund is the first such regional effort. The technical work is being organised by the EMEAP Working Group on Financial Markets, currently chaired by the HKMA. With the agreement reached earlier this month, the Working Group is now preparing the necessary documents in support of the actual launch of the Fund shortly. Although the amount involved is modest relative to Asian savings, it is hoped that the initiative will provide some catalytic effect to the development of the Asian bond market. This is a matter that will benefit the region, in terms of enhancing the efficiency of financial intermediation and promoting financial stability. It requires effort not only from central banks and monetary authorities but from all concerned in both government and private sector, working closely together. We are glad to notice, notwithstanding the initial scepticism expressed by some, the enthusiastic reception of the Asian Bond Fund idea from these other players in the debt market. We have certainly seen the subject of debt market development featuring with increasing prominence in regional financial forums.
Even before the final launch of this US$1 billion Asian Bond Fund, the EMEAP central banks and monetary authorities are already talking about the possibility of extending the concept to include bonds denominated in regional currencies. The HKMA looks forward to continuing to play an active role in this effort.
Joseph Yam
19 June 2003
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