Dragonbond

Key Takeaways

• A dragon bond is a long-term Asian corporate bond (excluding Japan) issued in stable foreign currencies like USD or JPY to manage currency risk.
• These bonds attract foreign investors by reducing foreign exchange risk from volatile local currencies, broadening Asia's fixed-income market.
• Dragon bonds were first introduced by the Asian Development Bank in 1991 and are comparable to eurobonds but in the Asian market context.
• Investors benefit from dragon bonds’ stability, but should be aware of complexities like international tax and regulatory issues.

What Is a Dragon Bond?

A Dragon Bond is a long-term debt security issued by companies from Asian nations (excluding Japan) and denominated in stable, foreign currencies like the U.S. dollar or Japanese yen. These bonds are designed to mitigate currency risk and attract foreign investment due to their denomination in solid international currencies. Dragon Bonds serve as an appealing investment option by providing stable returns, much like eurobonds in Europe, and were introduced by the Asian Development Bank in 1991.

How Dragon Bonds Work and Their Importance

A dragon bond is a fixed-income security denominated in currencies deemed more stable than the home currency; it is seen as more attractive to foreign investors as a result. The rationale for structuring them to be as appealing as possible to investors outside of Asia is because they mitigate the foreign exchange risk that can impact returns as currency values fluctuate. Dragon bonds are similar to eurobonds in that they are denominated in foreign currencies that are liquid and stable, but in the Asian context instead of Europe.

Dragon bonds were first introduced in 1991 by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Because of the foreign denomination, these can be more complex than other bonds because of international differences in taxation, regulatory compliance issues facing firms that issue them, plus limited liquidity in trading them in secondary markets.

Mitigating Currency Risk with Dragon Bonds

Dragon bonds were created to broaden the market for fixed-income securities in Asia and develop more active Asian financial markets. Although Asian companies had issued bonds in local currencies, they appealed mostly to domestic investors limiting access to capital. Foreign investors were often reluctant to buy bonds dominated in currencies that could fluctuate rapidly. Currencies such as the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen were considered stable enough for accumulating assets.

For example, an Indonesian company might issue a 20-year bond denominated in Indonesian rupiah (IDR), with a coupon rate of 4-percent paid annually. If the U.S. dollar-Indonesian rupiah (USD/IDR) were 10,000 rupiahs per one U.S. dollar, then a 100-million rupiah bond would be the equivalent of $10,000. Each interest payment of 4 million rupiah would represent $400 at the time the bond is issued.

To an Indonesian investor, an investment of 100 million rupiah would pay 4 million rupiah per year with return of principal after 20 years. But for an investor buying such a bond with U.S. dollars, an unfavorable movement between the relative value of the two currencies could create extra risk.

If in the next year the exchange rate shifted from 10,000 IDR/1 USD to 11,000 IDR/1 USD, then the first coupon payment of 4 million rupiah would only be worth only about $364 instead of $400 as anticipated when the bond was first issued. The bond's 100-million rupiah face value would be worth about $9,091. And if the prevailing interest rate moves up, the value of the bond would be even lower.

However, a dragon bond denominated in USD, while still subject to interest rate risk, would not be subject to currency risk. The regional economy has changed significantly in the years since the introduction of dragon bonds in 1991, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and the growth of the Chinese economy. However, dragon bonds continue to help Asian markets attract more foreign investment.

Investing

Bonds

Fixed Income