Slow start to year as proceeds raised by Singapore bond offerings drop 21.5%

PRIMARY bond offerings from Singapore-domiciled issuers raised some US$6.7 billion to date this year, down 21.5 per cent from the first quarter of 2017.

This is the slowest start to a year for Singapore bond offerings since 2015's proceeds of US$6.1 billion, according to Thomson Reuters' review of Singapore debt capital markets.

Singapore-dollar bond offerings for the year-to-date saw a drop of 4.3 per cent to S$4.8 billion compared to the same period a year ago, on the back of a 23.8 per cent fall in the number of primary issuances.

US dollar-denominated bonds issued by Singapore companies fell 42.1 per cent year-on-year to US$1.2 billion.

The financial sector raised US$4.3 billion, a decline of 28.8 per cent in proceeds from the same period the previous year, but still taking the lion's share by capturing 63.9 per cent of the market for total bond proceeds issued by Singapore borrowers.

Government and agencies came in second with 26 per cent, with the real estate sector a distant third with five per cent.

Thomson Reuters' highlighted the Land Transport Authority's S$1.2 billion bond offering as the biggest Singapore dollar bond offering this year, with the Housing and Development Board's two cumulative primary offerings of S$1.1 billion coming in second.

As for bookrunners, DBS Group Holdings takes the crown in underwriting Singapore-issued bonds so far this year with related proceeds of US$1.4 billion, a 20.7 per cent slice of market share.