European sovereigns, supranationals and agencies supply is running at high levels, and with the market environment far from ideal, issuers are having to broaden their investor base. Placement with Asian accounts is critical to the success of many deals.
Fast and effective: KfW's January 10-year dollar deal had a healthy placement in AsiaDespite concerns about government budget deficits, Asian central banks continue to show strong demand for European sovereign bonds. But sovereign, supranational and agency issuers all need to focus much more on the careful execution of deals, and the syndication process has been speeded up because of volatile market conditions. Writer Michael Marray
Thomas Fang, head of Greater China risk management products intermediary sales at UBSThe Asian structured products market is slowly rebuilding itself after the fallout from the global financial crisis. High-net-worth investors are getting their risk appetite back but providers are having to structure shorter-term products in order to win business. Writer Michael Marray
Azad Mahavar, head of structured products for the UK market at BNP Paribas in LondonA growing number of institutional investors are using structured products to generate extra yield, but they are demanding greater transparency and liquidity of structured products than ever before. Writer Michael Marray
Whether it is algorithmic models or simple pay-offs based on baskets of currencies, currency trades are proving to be increasingly popular with buyers of structured products looking to complement their equities, commodities and fixed-income investments. Writer Michael Marray