MAS annual report shows new corporate debt issuance rose 34% to S$308bn, driven by financial institutions and favorable interest rates.

Record Issuance Surge in 2024

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) Singapore Corporate Debt Market Development 2025 report, released in August 2025, reveals that new corporate debt issuance in Singapore surged 34% year-on-year to S$308 billion in 2024. This growth reflects robust demand from financial institutions and a supportive interest rate environment. Excluding a large multi-tranche issuance that had inflated the 2023 base, the underlying growth was even steeper at 67.1% year-on-year, according to MAS. The total outstanding stock of corporate debt arranged by financial institutions in Singapore rose 9% to S$617 billion by end-2024, underscoring the deepening of the market.

Issuance Volume (S$ billion)Source: Orionmano Industries

Non-SGD Short-Term Debt Dominates New Issuance

Short-term non-Singdollar debt—defined as instruments with maturities of one year or less—accounted for nearly 60% of all new borrowings in 2024, or approximately S$182 billion, according to the Straits Times report on the MAS data. This segment was the largest single category of new issuance, driven overwhelmingly by financial institutions (FIs). In the non-Singdollar market, FIs' share of issuance increased by 23.7 percentage points year-on-year, and their volumes rose by S$92 billion, The Business Times reported, citing the need to fund asset book growth. The debt was issued across a range of currencies, including the US dollar, Australian dollar, British pound, euro, yuan, and Hong Kong dollar, reflecting Singapore's role as a multi-currency funding hub for global corporates and financial institutions operating in the region.

Broad-Based Growth in Singdollar Market

Growth in Singdollar-denominated bond issuance was broad-based across financial institutions, corporates, and statutory boards, MAS noted. Lower interest rates and tighter credit spreads—meaning the premium investors demand for bearing credit risk narrowed—supported activity in the local-currency segment. Corporates, including property companies, issued S$4.1 billion more in Singdollar debt in 2024 than in 2023, while statutory board issuance rose S$6.1 billion year-on-year, according to the Straits Times. While FIs saw a slight dip in their share of Singdollar issuance—down 9.9% year-on-year—they remained the leading issuer class overall across both currency segments. The broad-based nature of the growth suggests that Singapore's corporate debt market is attracting a diverse set of borrowers, from government-linked statutory boards to private property developers.

Sustainable and Digital Bond Segments Accelerate

The sustainable bond segment posted exceptional growth. Green, social, sustainability, sustainability-linked, and transition (GSSSL) bonds issued in Singapore reached S$13.3 billion in 2024, up 79.7% from S$7.4 billion in 2023, MAS reported in its sustainability report released in July 2025. The jump aligns with a global trend of rising sustainable bond issuance amid a more benign interest rate environment. Singapore's digital corporate bond market, while still at an early stage of development, is also gaining traction. As of end-2024, digital corporate bond issuance in Singapore reached approximately USD 2.5 billion, coming from a diverse range of issuers including corporations, financial institutions, and special-purpose vehicles. To catalyze this segment, MAS launched the Global-Asia Digital Bond Grant Scheme (G-ADBGS) in 2025, offering up to SGD 450,000 per issuance to defray the costs of digital bond issuance and promote mainstream adoption.

Issuance Volume (S$ billion)Source: Orionmano Industries

Outlook

With monetary easing continuing into 2025 and Singapore's deep capital markets ecosystem—encompassing over 40 international and regional banks' debt capital markets teams, a large asset management base, and professional services firms—corporate debt issuance is expected to remain robust. Global bond issuance rose to USD 9.1 trillion in 2024 amid interest rate cuts, and if the favorable financing environment persists, Singapore is well-positioned to capture further flows. However, risks warrant monitoring. The heavy concentration of issuance in short-term non-Singdollar debt—nearly 60% of new borrowings with ≤1-year maturity—exposes the market to refinancing risk if global rate volatility re-emerges or liquidity conditions tighten. The growth in sustainable and digital bond segments offers diversification, but both remain small relative to the overall market. Investors and issuers alike will be watching the trajectory of global monetary policy and the resilience of Singapore's ecosystem to sustain the momentum.