The Philippine local bond market is preparing for another active year as the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) expects issuance volumes to at least match the record levels seen in 2025.
PDEx president Stephanie Marie Zulueta said she is hoping total issuance will reach at least P454 billion this year.
The market already recorded P150 billion in listings in the first two months of 2026, headlined by a P100-billion fixed-rate bond from BDO Unibank Inc. in January and a P50-billion listing from Bank of the Philippine Islands last week.
“We’re very positive with what’s happening,” Zulueta told reporters during a recent bond listing.
A primary driver for the market is the expansion of environmental, social and governance (ESG) bonds. These instruments now represent 46 percent of total issues, maintaining the momentum from last year when sustainability-linked bonds accounted for 46 percent of issuances.
Beyond green financing, Zulueta expects a wave of activity from companies seeking to refinance maturing debts through new bond sales.
The pipeline is bolstered by firms with existing shelf registrations, a mechanism that allows issuers to return to the market with increased speed.
The outlook follows a robust 2025 where total corporate funds raised rose by more than 25 percent to P454.19 billion. Lower interest rates throughout that year encouraged companies to tap the capital markets to fund various expansion projects.
Last year, 24 companies listed corporate bonds on the exchange. These included debut issuances from Maynilad Water Services Inc., Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. and Toyota Financial Services Philippines. Other major 2025 players included Petron Corp, which raised a record P32 billion, SM Prime Holdings with P41 billion across two issuances and Security Banking Corp. with P21 billion in fixed-rate bonds.
Units of Century Properties Group, Rockwell Land Corp. and Ayala Corp. are among the entities expected to tap the debt market soon.
