Dollar Strength Drags Asian Bond Sales in Currency to Decade Low

A surging dollar is having an outsized impact on bond issuance in Asia, where numerous local currency debt markets offer borrowers more options than elsewhere in the world, helping them blunt the impact of a global runup in yields.

Sales amount to just $3.3 billion this month, on track for the lowest since December 2013, in a threat to underwriting fees for arrangers. That comes as weaker local currencies push up the servicing costs on foreign debt and tarnish its appeal for issuers. A property debt crisis in China is also blocking many developers from tapping the market. That’s in ...