PH bond market grew 17% in Q2 – ADB

The Philippine bond market was the second fastest-growing among Emerging East Asia’s local currency bond markets, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

In its latest Asia Bond Monitor released on Wednesday, ADB said the country’s local currency bond market grew by 16.8 percent to P6.7 billion ($131 billion) in the second quarter of the year from P5.7 billion ($108 billion) in the same quarter in 2018.

The amount was also higher by 1.8 percent from the P6.5 billion ($125 billion) in the first quarter in 2019.

“The growth was driven by both the government and corporate segments which posted increases of 1.7 percent quarter-on-quarter and 2.3 percent quarter-on-quarter,” the report said.

The amount of outstanding government bonds amounted to P5.29 billion ($103 billion) up by 15.2 percent from the P4.59 billion ($86 billion) a year ago.

The amount was likewise up from the P5.2 billion ($99 billion) in the first quarter.

Corporate bonds which reached P1.4 billion ($28 billion) was also higher by 23.3 percent from the P1.1 billion ($22 billion) in 2018.

ADB said that during the second quarter of the year, there were a total of $15.3 trillion in local currency bonds in Emerging Asia, up by 14.2 percent compared to the same period in 2018.

“Foreign investment in emerging East Asia remains stable but there are still considerable potential risks. Financial stability in the region could be undermined if global investors change their views on emerging markets,” said ADB chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada in a separate statement.

“Governments in the region would do well to continue to deepen local currency bond markets so they can act as a reliable local source of funding,” added Sawada.