Sri Lanka Debt Tumbles From Best to Worst in Asia on Virus
- Tourism-dependent nation’s dollar notes lost 20% in October
- The drop is a cautionary tale for emerging-market investors
Photographer: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP via Getty Images
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Sri Lanka has tumbled from best to worst in Asia’s dollar bond market, underscoring how fast the pandemic can chill sentiment toward weaker emerging-market assets.
The island nation’s notes lost about 20% in October after dropping 15.5% in September, marking two straight months of the biggest losses in the region, Bloomberg Barclays indexes show. That’s a stark shift from earlier this year, when the securities were Asia’s top performers in each of the three months through August.