More Than US$1 Trillion Of APAC Debt To Mature By 2021

SINGAPORE, Sept 21 (Bernama) -- More than US$1 trillion (US$1 = RM4.13) of rated corporate debt in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to mature from the second half of 2016 until 2021, says the S&P Global Fixed Income Research. It accounted for 10.5 per cent of the US$10.3 trillion maturing globally, the research group said in an article titled 'Asia-Pacific Refinancing Study -- US$1.09 Trillion of Rated Corporate Debt Is Expected to Mature through 2021', released here Wednesday. Of the total, US$107.2 billion was scheduled to mature in the second half of 2016 and peaking at US$237 billion in 2017 before the annual maturities decline. The median maturity for all Asia-Pacific rated corporate debt is 3.9 years. Of the total Asia-Pacific debt maturing through 2021, 88 per cent is investment-grade rated at 'BBB-' and higher. "We expect that the financial markets will provide sufficient liquidity for companies to manage the amount of rated corporate debt set to mature in Asia-Pacific. "However, volatility in capital flows, exchange rates, and the ongoing rebalancing of China's economy could impose additional funding challenges," the research group Head Diane Vazza said. She also said although the macroeconomic picture was becoming more balanced for several countries in the region, the global trade growth remained sluggish as China embarked on an unsustainable round of credit-fueled growth. The article is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect at www.globalcreditportal.com and www.spcapitaliq.com. --BERNAMA