Indonesia back on banks' radar

摘要

Indonesian companies are gearing up to return to the capital markets as a brighter economic outlook lures international investors back to the South-East Asian nation. Indonesian corporate issuers had put bond plans on hold from late last May after then chairman Ben Bernanke said the US Federal Reserve was planning to reduce its asset-purchase programme. The rupiah has dropped more than 15% against the US dollar since then, while the spreads over US Treasuries on Pertamina's 2023 bonds, a benchmark of offshore borrowing costs for Indonesian corporations, soared 220bp to 440bp in late August. However, since the beginning of 2014, the rupiah has appreciated 6%, making it the best-performing currency in Asia. Similarly, the spread on Pertamina 2023s has tightened 40bp to 286bp.