Which markets face the most risks as frontiers drown in debt?

SINGAPORE (Mar 11): With a steady build-up of public debt becoming increasingly held by private creditors, frontier markets (FMs) are outpacing their emerging market (EMs) counterparts to become more and more vulnerable to global financial shocks.

This is according to Oxford Economics in its latest research briefing issued last Friday, where it noted that FMs are currently “drowning in debt”.

Based on Oxford Economics’ sovereign risk indicator, the risk profiles of 17 major FMs have deteriorated over the past decade with the influx of private capital, often with insufficient regard for their subpar credit metrics, in the firm’s view.