Bond listings reach record high in 2022

Corporate issuances breach P500 billion mark

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) enjoyed a banner year for the fixed-income exchange, with funds raised through bond listings hitting a new all-time high of P508 billion this year.

Data from PDEx showed that the amount raised via new listings and enrollment soared by 138 percent from P213.45 billion last year as the Philippines continued to recover from the pandemic-induced recession.

PDEx president and CEO Antonino Nakpil is optimistic of a better 2023 after a robust bond listing this year.

“After the lull in 2021, this must be the issuer community’s version of revenge issuance. Thankfully so, one might say, given the economic challenges, brought on by factors readily beyond our nation’s control, our issuer community and the largely domestic investor base for peso-denominated debt instruments brightly paint a contrasting view,” Nakpil said earlier.

During the listing of the P20-billion bonds issued by Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV), Nakpil said that corporate strategies are still on track and local investors are able to provide funds for plans that need financing.

“This again suggests further signs of the underlying strength of the economic engine that is moving us through the hurdles of 2022 and into a possibly brighter and more hopeful 2023,” he said.

The banking sector accounted for more than a third of the amount raised with P179.3 billion, as the industry continued to tap the domestic debt market to raise funds to diversify funding sources and bankroll expansion programs.

BDO Unibank Inc. led the listings as it raised a record P52.7 billion through the issuance of ASEAN Sustainability bonds listed last Jan. 28.

BDO was followed by Security Bank Corp., which raised a total of P30.6 billion via the issuance of P16 billion fixed-rate bonds last July and another P14.6 billion fixed-rate bonds in November.

Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands also raised P27 billion, followed by Ty-led Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. with P23.71 billion, Yuchengco-owned Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. with P14.75 billion, state-run Development Bank of the Philippines with P12 billion, Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines with P11 billion, and Bank of Commerce owned by diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) with P7.5 billion.

On the other hand, SMC topped the list in terms of amount raised this year with P90 billion. This month alone, the diversified conglomerate raised P60 billion through the issuance of fixed-rate bonds due in 2028, 2029 and 2032.

The company also raised P30 billion via the issuance of fixed-rate bonds due 2027 and 2029 last March.

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. also raised P45 billion via the domestic bond market. It raised P12 billion in May, followed by another P33 billion in July.

Its parent firm, conglomerate Ayala Corp., raised P15 billion. Ayala-led ACEN Corp. also raised P10 billion worth ASEAN Green Bonds last September.

The Aboitiz family through flagship AEV issued P20 billion worth of bonds on Dec. 7, while Aboitiz Power Corp. issued P10 billion worth of bonds last March 17.

Despite the impact of the pandemic, funds raised via the PDEx platform rose by 3.25 percent to a new record high of P387.83 billion in 2020 from P375.61 billion in 2019.

Due to the impact of the global health crisis, the amount raised via new listing at the PDEX platform plunged by almost 45 percent to P213.45 billion in 2021.

The Philippines was able to sustain its momentum with a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.7 percent between January and September this year, slightly above the government target of 6.5 to 7.5 percent.