Corporate Blowups Are Rattling Investors in Emerging Markets (1)

Corporate bond routs from Sao Paulo to Istanbul are signaling to investors that the standout run in emerging markets may be starting to show some cracks.

In Brazil, trouble at chemical giant Braskem SA has money managers bracing for a potential debt restructuring and waste-management firm Ambipar Participacoes e Empreendimentos SA is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. In Turkey, a government probe into industrial conglomerate Ciner Group sent bonds of subsidiary WE Soda Ltd. plunging.

The blowups risk derailing what’s been almost two years of outperformance for company debt from the developing world against their global peers. As ...