The COVID-19 pandemic has roiled global asset markets, including those in Asia. In this difficult economic environment, the region will not be immune to the general trend of credit deterioration. 

Nevertheless, we believe Asia is structurally better positioned than its global counterparts, and in our view there are significant opportunities available for investors in credit selection. To fully extract value, incorporating a robust Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) analysis – and particularly the “G” factor (Governance) in Asia - will be increasingly integral in this difficult climate.

In this latest issue of Portfolio Insights, we explore the Asian credit environment and the growing importance of governance factors in credit selection. We demonstrate how Manulife Investment Management is well-placed to help investors add value in Asian credits – not just through our people and process, but also through our fully-integrated ESG approach. In fact, we have avoided all 61 “fallen angels” in Asia (ex-Japan) to date and have not registered a single default in our regional pan-Asian fixed-income holdings over the past 12 years¹.

Finally, through three illustrative case studies, we exemplify how our proven approach to credit selection and emphasis on governance issues has steered us away from potentially problematic names.

Click here to read the full report.

1 Manulife Investment Management, Standard and Poors, Moody’s, JP Morgan Asia Credit Index (JACI).

Section 1 The current Asian credits landscape 

Section 2 The Manulife Investment Management difference: Our people, our process and a targeted ESG focus 

Section 3 How emphasis on the “G” in ESG is critical in Asia 

Section 4 Case studies: The importance of governance issues in credit decisions