PDEx sees record bond listing this year

MANILA, Philippines — Bond listings on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) are projected to set a new record high this year as more banks return to the domestic bond market for their funding needs.

PDEx president and CEO Antonino Nakpil said during the listing of the P7.5-billion bonds issued by Bank of Commerce that “the bank issuer community has returned to the debt capital markets with fervor.”

Nakpil said that the listing of the maiden bonds issued by the banking arm of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is the seventh to be made by a bank so far this year.

“Bank of Commerce is the seventh bank to come to market and indicating positive signals from such a vital cog in the national economic engine. The issuance and listing activities remain a bright spot in an otherwise dull year for the fixed income market,” Nakpil said.

Bond listings on the PDEx plunged by 45 percent to P213.5 billion last year from an all-time high of P387.8 billion in 2020 or during the height of the pandemic.

With the listing of the bonds issued by Bank of Commerce, Nakpil said the amount raised through PDEx has reached P352.5 billion.

“At P352.5 billion of new listings, we are already at striking distance of that old 2020 record,” Nakpil said.

Aside from Bank of Commerce, other banks that issued debt instruments this year include Security Bank with P16 billion,Union Bank of the Philippines with P11 billion, Development Bank of the Philippines with P12 billion, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. with P14.76 billion, Bank of the Philippines with P27 billion, and BDO Unibank with a record P52.7 billion.

In all, Philippine banks raised P140.96 billion so far this year, accounting for almost 40 percent of the total amount raised since the beginning of the year.

Nakpil said that PDEx booked a monthly record of P96 billion in July, with SMC’s banking and energy arm accounting for almost half of the amount raised.

Aside from the P7.5-billion listed by Bank of Commerce, SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMCGP) returned to the domestic bond with the issuance of P40-billion worth of bonds last July 26.