SL one of Asia’s fastest-growing markets after China: UK FT
Saturday, 12 April 2014 00:00
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Sri Lanka’s economy grew at a rate of 7.2% over the past financial year, making the island one of Asia’s fastest-growing markets after China, states the Financial Times of London in an article.
The successful issuance of a sovereign bond suggests that no extraneous factors deterred investors against a backdrop of heightened appetite for the emerging market and frontier debt, according to Murtaza Jafferjee, the Head of brokerage JB Securities in Colombo.
Sri Lanka sold $ 500 m of five-year debt on Tuesday with a coupon of 5.125% - its lowest to date – and attracted more than $ 4 b in orders. Interest was particularly strong from US investors, who took up almost half the deal, the Financial Times states.
In January, Sri Lanka raised $ 1 b in a separate sovereign issue, offering a five-year bond with a 6% yield at a time of growing worries over emerging and frontier markets as the US Federal Reserve rolls back its ultra-easy monetary stance.
