Let equity markets worry about cars, bond investors have eyes on the road

Like its bigger neighboring economy, Indonesia, too, is hungry for capital that would create jobs for its teeming youth population

India’s plunging auto sales are making investors nervous. Their bigger worry should be the vanishing new roads.

The country’s top six automakers reported a 29% decline in August sales. A 45% slump in commercial vehicle sales by Tata Motors Ltd., the No. 1 Indian truck maker, added to the gloom. With GDP growth facing its longest slump since 2012, India is in a quasi-recession, Teresa John, an economist at Nirmal Bang Equities Pvt. in Mumbai, said in a report this week.

The bond market seems to agree. A five-year swap, which allows investors to lock in a fixed interest rate by promising