Peso bond market tops P11T in fourth quarter

THE peso bond market rose 0.2% from the previous quarter to P11.2 trillion in the three months to December 2022, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

Key developments in the period were a contraction in the government bond market coupled with slower expansion in corporate bonds, according to the ADB’s Asia Bond Monitor report.

“Emerging East Asia’s local-currency bond market expanded at a slower pace in the fourth quarter of 2022 than in the previous quarter,” it said.

The region’s bond market totaled $23.2 trillion at the end of December, posting a growth rate of 1.2%.

The Philippines’ quarter-on-quarter growth rate lagged those of Vietnam (6.5%), Indonesia (3.5%), and Singapore (2.4%).

The nine markets tracked by the ADB posted positive but weaker growth in the fourth quarter.

On the other hand, “The markets of Vietnam and the Philippines had the fastest year-on-year growth rates in the fourth quarter,” it added.

The year-on-year growth rate for peso bonds in the fourth quarter was 13.3%.

“At the end of December, the Philippines’ local currency bond market consisted of 85.7% government bonds and 14.3% corporate bonds,” the ADB said.

Government bonds outstanding declined 0.4% from a quarter earlier, due primarily to a large volume of maturities in Treasury bills and other government securities.

“Meanwhile, growth in corporate bonds outstanding moderated to 4.4% due to continued policy rate hikes by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to address persistent inflation,” the ADB said.

In the fourth quarter, 16 peso corporate bond issues were launched by eight companies.

The ADB said San Miguel Corp. was the top issuer during the period with P60.0 billion worth of multi-tranche fund-raising exercises.

San Miguel Corp., Ayala Land, Inc., and SM Prime Holdings, Inc. were the top three issuers of corporate bonds, representing 10.2%, 9.3%, and 7.5%, respectively, of the corporate bond market.

At the end of December, the Philippines’ top 30 corporate issuers had aggregate bonds outstanding of P1.453 trillion, accounting for 90.6% of the peso corporate bond market.

“The banking sector continued to hold the largest market share of 32.8%, followed by property firms at 28.7% and holding firms 22.4%,” it added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson