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At the end of 2005, corporate bonds accounted for 48% of total bonds outstanding for the developing markets considered here. However, given the definition of corporate bonds (encompassing issues by quasi-government organizations, policy bodies, and financial institutions), the level of bonds issued by the domestic private sector into the local markets is considerably less. Similarly, the apparent credit quality of corporate bonds is much higher than it otherwise would be--approaching or exceeding the local currency credit ratings of each country.

Table 1

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* Contributed by: -
Philip Bayley is Primary Credit Analyst with Standard & Poor's, Melbourne.