The Asia Bond Monitor reviews recent developments in East Asian local currency bond markets along with the outlook, risks, and policy options. It covers the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus the People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; and the Republic of Korea.

Emerging East Asia's local currency bond market registered marginal growth of 1.1% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2018 to reach a size of USD12.8 trillion at the end of March.

Significant bond inflows were noted in emerging East Asia at the beginning of 2018, with all markets with available data recording inflows due to positive investor sentiment. Yields in emerging East Asia trended upward between 1 March and 31 May amid global economic expansion and tightening United States (US) monetary policy. However, as the US continued its policy normalization in Q1 2018, emerging East Asia currencies depreciated, which led foreign investors to reduce their exposure to the region.

The theme chapter, The Role of Greenness Indicators in Green Bond Market Development, aims to understand the pricing mechanism in the green bond market. It empirically investigates the existence of a green bond premium, in the green bond market.

The People's Republic of China has become a global leader in the fast-expanding green bond market, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has released a new green bond standard to give impetus to the further development of the market in a region where the market remains in a nascent stage. This report briefly reviews some key issues related to the green bond market's development.