PHL Bond Market Growth Slows in Q2 Amid Front-Loading Effects, ADB Reports

THE GROWTH of the Philippine bond market slowed in the second quarter after the preceding period’s results were swelled by front-loading, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said. According to the Asian Bond Monitor for September 2026, the peso bond market grew 2.7% quarter on quarter to P13.2 trillion, slowing from 3.5% in the first quarter. “The slower market expansion was evident across both issuer groups, with outstanding government bonds rising 2.6% quarter on quarter, down from 3.4% in the first quarter, and corporate bonds increasing 3.2%, compared with 4.4% previously.” The Philippine bond market’s growth was the fifth fastest expansion among the 10 countries being tracked. It lagged the 3.1% increase posted by the emerging East Asia bond market. The Singapore bond market contracted 0.4% over the period, while that of Thailand grew 0.4% and Japan’s expanded 0.4%. Hong Kong had the fastest-growing bond market, rising 10.3%, followed by Vietnam’s 3.8%, China’s 3.4%, and Malaysia’s 3%. The Philippines had the second-smallest bond market in the region at $216 billion, ahead of Vietnam’s $145 billion. Year on year, the Philippine bond market expanded 8.6%, accelerating from the 4.6% increase seen in the first quarter. In emerging East Asia, the Philippines’ year-on-year bond market growth was the third fastest, following Vietnam’s 14.6% and Indonesia’s 9%. Issuances in the Philippines also weakened in the second quarter, falling 45.1% to P476.2 billion after surging 211.6% in the first quarter, which created a high base after the front-loading of government borrowing, the ADB said. “Both segments contributed to the pullback in Q2, led by a 46.1% quarter-on-quarter decline in government bond issuance, while corporate issuance fell 41%.” Debt securities, which also include tenors of one year or shorter, rose 3.3% quarter on quarter to P14.5 trillion, against the 2.8% rate posted in the preceding quarter. Year on year, they expanded 5.3%. — Aaron Michael C. Sy