Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) expects to see up to P600 billion in domestic bond listings this year, with local firms expected to refinance maturing debt.

Should this target be reached, the total amount would exceed the P508.66-billion record in 2022.

While Switzerland, followed by Sweden and then the United States, retained the top three positions in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024, Singapore overtook Britain to secure fourth place.

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“Right now, we think most of it is refinancing,” PDEx president and CEO Antonino Nakpil told reporters on the sidelines of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines 2025 induction ceremonies.

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“These guys are the ones who were planning [to issue bonds] late last year, and they’re coming in this first quarter of 2025,” Nakpil added, noting that the first issuers of the year would be banks and real estate firms.

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At the same time, however, the CEO of the country’s bond trading platform warned that there was still a chance to cut their target, especially after they had missed their 2024 goal by 10 percent.

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Last year, PDEx expected to see at least P400 billion raised through the debt market. But the actual figure ended at P360 billion. According to Nakpil, they initially projected more companies to issue bonds in the latter half of 2024 due to maturing obligations. “But those didn’t push through, so we’ll see the likelihood that they’ll be coming [this year],” he said.

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In the latter half of 2024, domestic bond listings surged on expectations that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas would cut the overnight borrowing rate.

Monetary policy easing typically makes fixed-income securities, such as bonds, more attractive due to higher yield. Some of the largest listings last year included Bank of the Philippine Islands’ P33.7-billion sustainability-linked bonds issued in August. It is the bank’s largest thematic bond listing to date.

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Compared with regular debt securities, thematic bonds are issued when a company wants to raise funds to bankroll projects that support sustainable development goals.

BPI’s bonds have a term of 1.5 years and bear an interest rate of 6.2 percent.

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Sy family-led BDO Unibank Inc. also raised P55.7 billion from its third Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) sustainability bond issuance last July.

The offering carries a tenor of 1.5 years and a coupon rate of 6.325 percent per annum.bet88

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