While most Asian credit markets boomed in 2012, offshore renminbi bonds – known as “dim sum” bonds – endured a rollercoaster ride. Yields jumped and investors and issuers shunned the market for much of the year on mounting concerns about the Chinese economy.

Dim sum bonds ended the year in positive territory, but they returned just 7.1 per cent, against an average of more than 10 per cent for Asia ex-Japan investment-grade dollar bonds and over 20 per cent for high yield. In a bumper year for Asian debt, when total G3 issuance soared over 60 per cent to more than $230bn, dim sum bond issuance slipped to Rmb105bn.

Analysts are hopeful that 2013 will see a rebound, however, on the back of fresh enthusiasm for China, improving market liquidity and more attractive yields.