This edition sets out recent developments in East Asian local currency
bond markets and discusses the region's economic outlook, the risk of
another taper tantrum, and price differences between labeled and
unlabeled green bonds.
Emerging East Asia's local currency (LCY) bond markets expanded to an
aggregate USD21.7 trillion at the end of September 2021, posting growth
of 3.4% quarter-on-quarter, up from 2.9% in the previous quarter. LCY
bond issuance rose 6.8% quarter-on-quarter to USD2.4 trillion in Q3
2021. Sustainable bond markets in ASEAN+3 also continued to expand to
reach a size of USD388.7 billion at the end of September.