Annual MAS survey reports broad-based growth across sectors and currencies; digital bond issuance reached USD 2.5 billion.

Overview of 2024 Issuance Growth

Singapore’s corporate debt market recorded a 34% year-on-year increase in total new issuance to S$308 billion in 2024, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) annual Singapore Corporate Debt Market Development 2025 report. The outstanding size of the corporate debt market expanded 9% to S$617 billion at end-2024, reflecting sustained demand from both issuers and investors.

The 34% surge marks a sharp acceleration from the S$229.85 billion issued in 2023 (calculated from the reported year-on-year increase), underscoring the impact of a more accommodative rate environment and tightening credit spreads across the region. MAS Managing Director Chia Der Jiun, in remarks on the MAS Annual Report 2024/2025 delivered in July 2025, confirmed that total issuance had “increased more than 30% from the previous year to exceed S$300 billion,” further validating the headline figure.

Total Issuance (S$ billion) (S$ billion)Source: Orionmano Industries

Sectoral and Currency Dynamics

Growth in 2024 was broad-based, spanning multiple issuer types and currency segments. In the Singapore dollar (SGD) market, issuance rose across financial institutions, corporates, and statutory boards, supported by lower interest rates and tighter credit spreads that improved borrowing conditions.

In the non-SGD segment, financial institutions were the primary drivers of volume, raising capital to finance asset book expansion. Singapore also retained its appeal as a funding hub for global corporates with regional operations, a trend that has deepened over successive years as the city-state’s debt capital markets ecosystem matures.

The composition of issuance reflects a well-diversified market. MAS data from the prior year’s report (2024 edition) showed financial institutions accounted for 54.2% of issuance, corporations (excluding property) 41.8%, and special purpose vehicles 4.0%. While the MAS has not yet released full sectoral breakdowns for 2025, the broad-based nature of the reported growth suggests a similar distribution held through 2024.

Singapore’s role as a regional debt capital markets hub is reinforced by its concentration of intermediary expertise. As of the 2024 report, more than 40 international and regional banks maintain debt capital markets teams in Singapore, supported by specialised legal, accounting, rating agency, and ESG second-party opinion providers that enable speed-to-market for issuers.

Digital Bond Market Developments

Singapore’s digital corporate bond market reached approximately USD 2.5 billion in cumulative issuance as of end-2024, according to the MAS report. Issuers spanned a diverse range of entities, including corporations, financial institutions, and special purpose vehicles, indicating that the digital format is gaining traction beyond early adopters.

While digital bond adoption remains at an early stage relative to traditional bond markets, MAS Managing Director Chia noted in his July 2025 remarks that the technology “has potential to enhance efficiency and lower costs.” To accelerate mainstream adoption, MAS launched the Global-Asia Digital Bond Grant Scheme (G-ADBGS) in early 2025, offering up to SGD 450,000 per eligible issuance. The scheme is designed to defray the incremental costs of issuing digital bonds, including legal, structuring, and platform fees, and covers issuances in both SGD and foreign currencies.

This policy push aligns with broader regional trends. As Asian bond markets digitise, Singapore is positioning itself as a testbed for distributed ledger technology in capital markets, building on its existing strengths in regulatory sandboxing and fintech innovation.

Market Drivers and Forward Outlook

The 2024 issuance surge was underpinned by a confluence of favourable macro conditions. Lower interest rates, following the US Federal Reserve’s pivot and similar moves by regional central banks, reduced funding costs across the yield curve. Concurrently, tighter credit spreads—narrowing the risk premium demanded by investors—further compressed all-in borrowing costs, encouraging both refinancing and new issuance.

Singapore’s sustainable finance market continued to scale rapidly, contributing to broader debt market activity. The city-state is ASEAN’s largest market for green, social, sustainable, and sustainability-linked (GSSSL) bonds and loans. In 2024, GSSSL loans originated from Singapore reached a new high of over S$48 billion, reflecting strong demand from corporates transitioning to lower-carbon operations. MAS remains committed to supporting Asia’s low-carbon transition and has continued to enhance its supervisory framework, including applying more severe macro stress-testing scenarios to assess domestic financial system stability. The 2024/2025 stress test results indicated that Singapore banks maintain strong capital buffers and healthy liquidity profiles, while corporate and household debt-servicing capacities remain generally resilient.

Looking ahead, the corporate debt market appears well-positioned for sustained growth in 2025 and beyond. Continued policy support from MAS—through digital bond grants, sustainable finance frameworks, and regulatory facilitation—combined with Singapore’s established role as a regional debt capital markets hub, provides a strong foundation for further expansion. As global investors rotate back into Asian fixed income and ASEAN economies pursue infrastructure and decarbonisation investment, Singapore’s debt market is likely to remain a primary channel for capital formation in the region.