Domestic bond listings on track to meet P400 billion target

MANILA, Philippines — Domestic bond listings are back on track to meet this year’s target set by the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) despite earlier apprehensions that it might fall short.

PDEx president and CEO Antonino Nakpil said they are sticking with the P400-billion target for corporate bond issuances this year.

“We thought we are going to make it lower than P400 billion but it seems now we will reach the P400 billion target for the year because there is quite a lot that are starting to line up,” he said.

He said expectations of lower interest rates are driving optimism for more corporates to tap the domestic bond market this second half.

Nakpil told The STAR in an interview last May that while domestic bond listings this year would surely exceed last year’s amount, there is a possibility that it might not reach the P400 billion target set for 2024.

He earlier said they might have to recalibrate the target downwards by July.

“We thought we will be adjusting it down because it was weak during the first few months. We’re now only at listing 12 or 13. So the P400 billion now appears to be achievable with what is coming up,” Nakpil said.

The year-to-date corporate bond issuances have now reached more than P180 billion, following the listing of Ayala Land Inc.’s P6 billion ASEAN sustainability-linked bonds due 2034 last Thursday.

“Three banks are coming in but that’s not all. I think we have some more,” Nakpil said.

In 2023, the capital raised through corporate bond issuances stood at P209.33 billion, down 58.8 percent from a record high of P508.66 billion in 2022.

The expectation is for a more robust domestic corporate bond market this year compared to last year, as it is seen nearly doubling to P400 billion.