Malaysian and other Asean banks' bad debt woes set to push valuations even lower

SINGAPORE Stocks of South-East Asian banks are at their lowest valuations since the global financial crisis, but analysts don't expect investors to jump back in for some time, fearing a further increase in non-performing loans (NPLs).

Most investors expect bad loans will continue to rise through the first half of next year as regional economies struggle, weighed down by weak export demand, falling commodity prices and China's slowdown.