The establishment of local bond markets has been the single most important structural change in Emerging Markets (EM) in the past quarter of a century. Many investors still fear local markets due to FX volatility, but EM local bonds have performed better overall than US Treasuries and US stocks. This report examines the case for EM local currency bonds starting with a brief history of the asset class. We then examine the size and composition of the market before discussing the issuers, index challenges, the special role of China, credit ratings, performance characteristics and, of course, risks.