Seminar on Developing the Asian Bond Market in Financial Crisis
From 23-25 September 2009, a seminar on Developing the Asian Bond Market in Financial Crisis was held at the Shanghai National Accounting Institute (SNAI), sponsored by China’s Ministry of Finance, and co-organized by the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Center and the Asian Development Bank. About 40 participants from the Ministry of Finance, central bank, and securities regulatory bodies of Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and China and officials from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Monetary Fund attended the seminar in Shanghai. Participants located in Mongolia and Sri Lanka also joined the seminar via the video conference system provided by the World Bank’s Global Development Learning Network.
Topics covered in the seminar included: the current status and trends of the Asian bond market; promotion of local-currency denominated bonds in Asia; increasing cross-border transactions and market liquidity; expansion of investor base and promotion of institutional investors; setting up clearing systems; market credit rating systems and credit guarantee systems; and the development of bond markets in the context of the current financial crisis. Members of the Group of Experts from ADB’s Asian Bond Market Initiative shared with the participants milestones achieved by the initiative and their latest research, such as the options for the establishment of the Credit Guarantee and Insurance Mechanism and a Regional Settlement Intermediary.
Compared to the bond market in Europe and the US, the Asian bond market is significantly underdeveloped, accounting for a very small percentage of the overall market. However, in recent years, especially with the deepening financial crisis, there has been rapid development in the Asian bond market. Yet, due to the lack of necessary market infrastructure, legal and regulatory systems, and the invisible market risks, there is still much that must be done.. As Mr. Noritaka Akamatsu, senior advisor of the financial sector of the ADB and Mr. Li Kouqing, Deputy Director-General of the AFDC summarized in the closing of the seminar, there is no cookie-cutter approach we can follow in developing the Asian bond market. Only through communication and coordination, can we draw on the experience of others and seek an approach that fits the specific conditions of each country.
