Trends to watch in the Singdollar bond issuance market 

 The recent flurry of Singapore dollar credit issuances despite geopolitical headwinds and inflationary pressures is a reflection of the rising interest rate environment. Notably, market participants are pricing in more than 7 rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve this year, while Fed chairman Jerome Powell also hinted at further 50 basis points (bps) rate hikes in subsequent meetings by the Federal Open Market Committee.

Global central banks are aggressively tightening their monetary policies to combat decade-high inflation, which is one of the key drivers for SGD bond issuers to tap into the capital markets before further rate increases. In the year to date, the new SGD bond issuances are worth about S$6.3 billion, of which S$4.8 billion were priced from March to May after the Fed announced its first rate hike since 2018 during the March meeting. With the rising interest, we outline here three things to look out for.

1. SGD bond issuance market to remain robust in the near-term