Revitalising Singapore’s bond market

THE Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) has rejuvenated interest and trading volumes in Singapore’s stock market. It is timely for the government to consider initiatives to boost the Singapore dollar (SGD) fixed income market.

A vibrant bond market is essential to match the liabilities of insurance and pension funds, as well as to finance the growth of local companies. Both the equity and debt capital markets play crucial roles in the capital structure of healthy corporates.

However, much like the equity market prior to EQDP, the SGD fixed income market has remained in a state of relatively low liquidity and insufficient supply issuance, leading to a lack of interest from domestic and foreign investors.