Moody's Investors Service said itsAsian Liquidity Stress Indicator (ALSI) strengthened to 31.1% in September from 31.8% in August.
Still, the reading remains well above the long-term average of 24.4%, as liquidity remains weak for 47 of the 151 rated high-yield corporates, the company noted.
The ALSI measures the percentage of high-yield companies with Moody's weakest speculative grade liquidity score of SGL-4 as a proportion of high-yield corporate family ratings. The indicator increases when high-yield liquidity deteriorates, said Moody’s.
"The improvement primarily reflects the improved liquidity status of one company and the withdrawal of one company with weak liquidity," said Annalisa Di Chiara, a Moody's Senior Vice President.
The North Asian HY sub-indicator also marginally strengthened to 33.0% in September from 33.3% in August, while the South and Southeast Asian HY sub-indicator continued to improve to 26.7% in September from 28.3% in August, the company said.
Both indicators remain below their all-time highs of 39.6% and 38.8%, respectively, recorded in early 2019, the company added.
"Six bond deals closed in September totalling $1.8 billion, bringing year-to-date rated issuance to an all-time high of $40.0 billion with still three months to go this year," said Di Chiara.
Like previous months, China-based corporates, and in particular property developers, continued to drive issuance in September, she added.
Generally, liquidity in Asia is weaker than in EMEA and the US as companies rely more heavily on short-term and uncommitted bank facilities, according to Moody’s.
