** The main stories out of the region**
The treasuries market was closed today with Japan out on holidays. Asia focused on possible U.S. pressure on the Chinese shipping industry as well as on talk of an emerging bat coronavirus. Credit for the most part was weaker, with cash spreads 3-5bp wider, the exceptions being the Philippines and Indonesia.
Indonesia's new sovereign wealth fund came into operation today, and that buoyed the credit space. Indeed the main outperformers were Indonesia and Indonesian SOE's. The Philippines central bank cutting its reserve ratio on Friday, which they expect will encourage banks to lend more and ultimately boost the economy.
In terms of newsflow, China Vanke received an additional secured loan from state backed Shenzhen Metro Group for RMB4.2bn ($579m), this is on top of the RMB2.8bn ($383m) loaned 2 weeks earlier. Neutral for spreads. Finally, CSSC Shipping was in the spotlight, with the U.S. government proposing additional fees for Chinese made vessels entering the U.S.
Best & Worst Performers (zsprd, bp)
Source: Bloomberg