The International Government Bond Markets

First published in 1990, International Bond Markets analyses how the markets in public-sector debt have developed and how they operate in a number of countries, including those with chronic budget deficits. Alongside a detailed introduction to government borrowing, chapters consider the bond markets and debt management systems of the U.S.A., Japan, France, Italy and the U.K. With governments around the world struggling to manage their huge deficits, this is a particularly relevant title to students observing the current global economic situation, and those with a general interest in public debt management and 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.

In recent years there has been an increased awareness of the international bond markets as potential sources of return enhancement and/or risk reduction. As a result, investors throughout the world have increasingly adopted a global approach and invested in bonds from several countries. Governments have encouraged this by liberalizing their bond markets, making them more liquid and more accessible to international investors. Futures and options markets have been developed on government bonds in several major countries, permitting more effective implementation of investment strategies. Many global investors restrict their participation in foreign bond markets to foreign government bonds because of their low credit risk and their liquidity. Because of their crucial role, The International Government Bond Markets by Frank J. Jones and Frank J. Fabozzi focuses on eight of the world's major government bond markets: the U.S., Japan, Germany, the U.K., France, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia. It is the first book that provides a single, unified, succinct source of information about these major government bond markets. The core information is supplemented by the treatment of several other topics of importance and interest to global bond investors. The book is divided into three sections: . Section I provides background information about price yield/conventions, accrued interest calculation, international clearing organizations and global custody. Section II describes the eight government bond markets in terms of: nature of the market (maturity, structure and types of issues); method of issuance (primary market); secondary market; price/yield conventions; settlement procedures; taxation; and futures and options markets. Section III discusses investment strategies, beginning with an overview of the foreign exchange market and instruments for controlling foreign exchange risk, and concluding with a general framework for designing an active global bond portfolio strategy.

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.

China’s bond market is destined to play an increasingly important role, both at home and abroad. And the inclusion of the country’s bonds in global indexes will be a milestone for its financial market integration, bringing big opportunities as well as challenges for policymakers and investors alike. This calls for a good understanding of China’s bond market structure, its unique characteristics, and areas where reforms are needed. This volume comprehensively analyzes the different segments of China’s bond market, from sovereign, policy bank, and credit bonds, to the rapidly growing local government bond market. It also covers bond futures, green bonds, and asset-backed securities, as well as China’s offshore market, which has played a major role in onshore market development.

Since the Asia and Tequila crises of the late 1990s, a growing number of emerging market countries have focused on developing local bond markets to lock in local currency, fixed-rate and long-term funding, and help governments and corporations better manage their financing risks. International organizations from Washington to Southeast Asia are pushing bond market development, to reduce global instability by improving domestic risk management. This book is part of the International Finance Corporation's efforts to assist countries in South Asia and other parts of the world to identify their need for local bond markets, the impediments to developing them, and how those impediments might be removed. The book is based on papers presented at the South Asian Debt Market Symposium held in Sri Lanka in October 1999. It provides valuable insights to emerging market nations wrestling with the issue of building local bond markets. This book will be of interest to bond market specialists, policymakers, and the private sector.

This paper estimates the impact of foreign participation in determining long-term local currency government bond yields and volatility in a group of emerging markets from 2000-2009. The results of a panel data analysis of 10 emerging markets show that greater foreign participation in the domestic government bond market tends to significantly reduce long-term government yields. Moreover, greater foreign participation does not necessarily result in increased volatility in bond yields in emerging markets and, in fact, could even dampen volatility in some instances.

The development of government bond markets and, in particular, their currency composition have recently received much interest, partly because of their relation with financial crises. The authors study the determinants of the size and currency composition of government bond markets for a panel of industrial and developing countries. They find that countries with larger economies, greater domestic investor bases, and more flexible exchange rate regimes have larger domestic currency bond markets, while smaller economies rely more on foreign currency bonds. Better institutional frameworks and macroeconomic fundamentals enhance both domestic currency bond markets and increase countries' ability to issue foreign currency bonds, while they raise the share of foreign exchange bonds.

The paper documents institutional reforms that have taken place in the government debt markets of many industrial countries since the early 1980s, and investigates the impact of three key changes: (i) the move from relationship financing to market funding; (ii) the introduction of options; and (iii) the introduction of futures. Variance ratio tests on bond data for 14 industrial countries indicate that the move to market funding increased the volatility of bond yields and improved the informational efficiency of the secondary markets. The introduction of options and futures increased the informational efficiency of the underlying market, but did not have a stabilizing effect.

In November 2011, the G-20 endorsed an action plan to support the development of local currency bond markets (LCBM). International institutions—the IMF, the World Bank, the EBRD, and the OECD—were asked to draw on their experience to develop a diagnostic framework (DF) to identify general preconditions, key components, and constraints for successful LCBM development. The objective is to provide a tool for analyzing the state of development and efficiency of local currency bond markets. The application of the DF is expected to be flexible, bearing in mind that the potential for LCBM development depends on economic size, financing needs, and stage of economic development.