Park Lane Sheraton Hotel, London

Local currency bond markets are growing fast around the world as investor demand meshes neatly with the needs of issuers. Governments and corporations increasingly are selling local currency debt to eliminate exchange rate risk. These provide attractive buying opportunities not only for domestic investors but also for global bond buyers looking for diversification and yield.

But crucial issues remain:

• Are the spread compressions cyclical or structural?
• Is the risk correctly priced?
• What is the correlation with other investments?
• What impact will pension funds have on the local currency bond markets?
• Are local markets free forums for buying and selling or are they all too often political constructs?
• How should investors tackle the different tax and custodial regimes?
• Where do local currency bonds fit in an international portfolio?
• Can investors systematically arbitrage between the domestic and the international bid?

Confirmed speakers include:

• Professor John Gray, Professor of European Thought, London School of Economics
• Brett Diment, Head of Emerging Markets, Aberdeen Asset Management
• Lee Meddin, Deputy Treasurer and Global Head of Structured Finance, International Finance Corporation
• Pawel Kowalewski, Director, Financial Assets and Liabilities Department, Ministry of Finance, Poland
• Ian Plenderleith, Deputy Governor, South African Reserve Bank
• Stefan Nalletamby, Manager, Treasury Dept, African Development Bank Group
• Frank Czichowski, Senior Vice President and Treasurer, KfW Bankengruppe

 
This event will enable emerging market borrowers to establish new relationships and nurture existing links with yield hungry investors - central and private bankers, hedge and pension funds, as well as portfolio investors.