Domestic bond listings may fall short of P400 billion target

MANILA, Philippines — Domestic bond listings could come up short of this year’s target set by the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx).

“We’re definitely going to be higher than last year but might not reach the P400 billion. That’s as of today,” PDEx president and CEO Antonino Nakpil told The STAR.

“We may have to recalibrate, but we will do so by July,” he said.

The amount of capital raised through corporate bond issuance this year was earlier targeted to nearly double to about P400 billion from P209.33 billion in 2023.

To date, Nakpil said domestic bond listings have reached about P100 billion.

“So we’re just a little under P100 billion. We were already at P89 billion last Friday, then plus P10 billion (from Energy Development Corp.),” he said.

EDC yesterday listed its P10-billion fixed rate ASEAN green bonds in the PDEx.

Nakpil, however, said corporate bond issuances could pick up in the coming months and could still end within the target range for the year.

“There’s quite some big guys coming in the next few months,” Nakpil said.

“There’s some more coming in that we know already in June, and then some big ones that are making likely late June, maybe July. They are the usual issuers. There will be a lot coming in by June or July so it may still reach that range,” he said.

Last year, domestic corporate bond market issuances plunged by 58.8 percent to P209.33 billion from a record high of P508.66 billion in 2022 due to heightened uncertainties.

The expectation is for a more robust domestic corporate bond market this year compared to 2023.

“Right now, you have to let it play out because the cycle right now is there’s a lot of monetary policy that’s being enacted to counter inflation. When that settles down then you’ll see more activity in the primary market,” Nakpil said.