The Philippine local currency bond market grew to P8.13 trillion ($168 billion) in the third quarter on the back of the increase in issuances of Treasury bonds, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported on Wednesday.
In its latest Asia Bond Monitor report, the Manila-based multilateral lender said the amount was a 21.5-percent increase from P6.6 trillion ($131 billion) in the same period last year and an 8.8-percent jump from P7.47 trillion ($168 billion) in the second quarter.
Government bonds made up 79.9 percent of the market while corporate bonds made up 21.1 percent.
Outstanding government bonds in the period rose 23.8 percent year-on-year to P6.5 trillion ($134 billion) from P5.25 trillion ($101 billion) a year ago.
Quarter-on-quarter, these bonds grew by 10.1 percent from P5.94 trillion ($119 billion).
“The increase in market size was supported by Treasury bills and, in particular, Treasury bonds. The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) issued another tranche of retail Treasury bonds (RTBs) to raise more funds for the government’s [coronavirus] pandemic responses,” the ADB said.
“At the same time, the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) started issuing its own securities as additional instruments for its monetary policy implementation and liquidity management operations, adding to the government’s debt,” it added.
According to the report, state bond issuances totaled P1.10 trillion.
Outstanding corporate bonds hit P1.63 trillion, up 3.8 percent quarter-on-quarter and 12.9 percent year-on-year on the back of more bond issuances during the quarter.
“The banking sector remained the largest segment of the corporate bond market in Q3 (third quarter) 2020. The sector’s share increased to 41.7 percent at the end of September from 37.9 percent at the end of September 2019 as banks upped their issuance volume over the past year,” the ADB said.
Properties and utilities companies hold the second and third spots, respectively, it added.