Guidance Note For Developing Government Local Currency Bond Markets

This guidance note was prepared by International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group staff under a project undertaken with the support of grants from the Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening Initiative, (FIRST).The aim of the project was to deliver a report that provides emerging market and developing economies with guidance and a roadmap in developing their local currency bond markets (LCBMs). This note will also inform technical assistance missions in advising authorities on the formulation of policies to deepen LCBMs.

The Bahamas has a strong foundation for developing the local currency bond market (LCBM), benefitting from macroeconomic stability, and favorable fiscal and borrowing plans. The government views domestic capital market development as crucial for rebuilding economic buffers and fostering financial market development. An IMF/CARTAC a technical assistance mission visited The Bahamas in March 2023 to support the LCBM development. The mission assessed the current stage of the sovereign debt market and formulated policy recommendations for each of the six building blocks outlined in the Guidance Note for Developing Local Currency Bond Markets. Key findings highlighted significant potential to shift funding from non-concessional external borrowing to the domestic bond market, which would facilitate a more robust yield curve and deeper benchmark issuances. The mission’s key recommendations were: • Transition to a competitive auction system, allowing market prices to clear a fixed volume on offer; • Enhance communication with market participants, including through a formal investor relations strategy, and with relevant stakeholders to improve credibility, transparency, and investor appetite; and • Implement reforms sequentially, initially focusing on eliminating the most critical bottlenecks to market development.

At the request of the authorities, an IMF team undertook a technical assistance mission to Botswana, from August 17–26, 2022, to support efforts to develop the local currency government bond market. The mission assessed the current stage of the sovereign debt market and formulated policy recommendations for each of the six building blocks included in the Guidance Note for Developing Local Currency Bond Markets.

This handbook is a comprehensive and authoritative reference for both senior policymakers—those responsible for the development of government bond markets in their own countries—and all individuals responsible for guiding the market development process at the operational level—those who have a substantial need to understand the policy issues involved.

This report provides updates on the bond market in Hong Kong, China since the publication of the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide 2016: Hong Kong, China. It also highlights those changes and developments that have a connection to the bond market of the People’s Republic of China. The ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide series provides member-specific information on the investment climate, rules, laws, opportunities, and characteristics of local bond markets in Asia and the Pacific. It aims to help bond market issuers, investors, and financial intermediaries understand the local context and to encourage greater participation in the region’s rapidly developing bond markets.

Financial conditions in recent years have provided developing countries with unprecedentedopportunities to tap international bond markets, increasing access to commercial debtfinancing. On that background, developing countries are broadening the range of debtinstruments employed in implementing debt management strategies, and this has changed therisk profile of their public debt portfolios. The target audience of this Discussion Paper is thesovereign debt manager, with a special focus on first time/infrequent issuer in Low IncomeDeveloping Countries. The Guidance Note does not discuss whether countries should issueinternational bonds or not, but, rather, focus on the process of issuing such instruments, giventhe lack of objective and independent guidance available for issuers. The note outlines a stepby-step process and provides practical advice.

The ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide series provides member-specific information on the investment climate, rules, laws, opportunities, and characteristics of local bond markets in Asia and the Pacific. It aims to help bond market issues, investors, and financial intermediaries understand the local context and encourage greater participation in the region’s rapidly developing bond markets. This edition focuses on updates in the bond market in Indonesia since the publication of the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide for Indonesia in 2017.

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The Singapore bond market has become one of the most developed open capital markets in Asia with over US$221 billion in total local currency bonds outstanding with an additional US$53 billion of bonds outstanding. The Singapore Bond Market Guide is an outcome of the support and contributions of ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum members and experts, particularly from Singapore, while the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide as a whole is a comprehensive explanation of the region’s bond markets. This report should be recognized as a collective good to support bond market development among ASEAN+3 members.

This African Department Paper examines the rise in international sovereign bonds issued by African frontier economies and recommends policies for potential first-time issuers.