Shuli Ren, Columnist

Fleeing China? Credit Crises Lurk Everywhere in Emerging Markets

First it was Chinese developers. Now other markets in Asia are experiencing stress.

November 13, 2022 at 9:30 PM UTC

Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. A former investment banker, she was a markets reporter for Barron’s. She is a CFA charterholder.

Stressed out.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

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Global investors who had enough of Chinese real estate developers’ default drama have been looking for safe havens elsewhere. They are coming away feeling disappointed. Credit crises are lurking in every corner of emerging markets and the latest scares are no less dramatic.

Earlier this month, South Korea’s Heungkuk Life Insurance Co. rattled the bond investors with a surprise decision not to call its $500 million perpetual note. Panic selling spread well beyond Seoul. Even perpetuals issued by Hong Kong-listed AIA Group, a well-run insurer with A+ rating from S&P Global Ratings, tumbled.