The low yield environment globally sent investors to Asia for yield pickup and portfolio diversification in 2014, the research house said.
India and Indonesia were the best bond positions to hold in 2014, with a worst-case scenario (yield-to-worst) of an 8% yield.
The yield-to-worst, the lowest yield an investor can expect when investing in a callable bond, shows a 4.3% yield in the pan-Asia bond index.
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices. Data as of December 31, 2014.
The S&P Pan Asia Bond Index delivered a total return of 6.7% in 2014.
“Reflecting the strong demand and continuous market development, the size of the Asian local currency bond markets, measured by the S&P Pan Asia Bond Index, expanded by more than 9% to $6.94trn in 2014,” S&P said.
The S&P China Bond Index rose 16% to RMB 26trn ($4.19trn), “fueled by strong issuance in the corporate market”.
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices. Data as of December 31, 2014.
