Broad-based growth across financial institutions, corporates and statutory boards, driven by lower rates and tighter credit spreads.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) reported that corporate debt issuance surged 34% year-on-year to S$308 billion in 2024, reflecting strong demand across sectors amid lower interest rates and tighter credit spreads. The outstanding size of Singapore's corporate debt market rose 9% to S$617 billion by end-2024, according to MAS's annual Singapore Corporate Debt Market Development 2025 report. The record-breaking volume—exceeding S$300 billion for the first time—was underpinned by accommodative financial conditions and robust refinancing activity across issuer types.

Record Issuance Volumes and Growth Drivers

Total corporate debt issuance in Singapore surpassed S$300 billion in 2024, increasing more than 30% from the previous year, as confirmed by Managing Director Chia Der Jiun in remarks at the MAS Annual Report 2024/2025 media conference. The precise figure of S$308 billion represents a 34% year-on-step-up, driven by broad-based growth across financial institutions, corporates, and statutory boards. Lower interest rates and tighter credit spreads provided a favourable backdrop for issuers to tap the market, reducing borrowing costs and encouraging both new issuance and refinancing of existing debt.

In the non-SGD market, financial institutions led issuance volumes, fueled by the need to finance asset book growth. Singapore also continued to serve as an attractive funding destination for global corporates with operations in Singapore, reinforcing its position as a regional debt capital markets hub. The strong momentum carried into early 2025, with 60 SGD-denominated corporate bond issuances in the first half of the year, suggesting sustained elevated activity, according to UOB Asset Management.

Sector Composition of Issuance

The distribution of issuance by issuer type in 2023—the most recent full-year breakdown available from MAS—shows a concentration in financial institutions, which accounted for 54.2% of total issuance. Corporations (excluding property) represented 41.8%, while special purpose vehicles (SPVs) made up the remaining 4.0%. The dominance of financial institutions reflects their ongoing need to fund loan book expansion and meet regulatory capital requirements in a lower-rate environment.

%Source: Orionmano Industries

The corporate bond segment in Singapore's broader local currency bond market saw the fastest expansion among all bond segments in Q4 2024, with 30.4% quarter-on-quarter growth, according to Asian Development Bank data. The Housing & Development Board was the largest corporate bond issuer in Q4 2024, issuing S$2.3 billion—representing nearly half of LCY corporate issuance that quarter. The stock of SGD bonds rose from S$320 billion a decade ago to S$867 billion as of end-March 2025, an average annual growth rate of 10.5%, per AsianBondOnline data cited by UOBAM.

Digital Bond Market Expansion

Singapore's digital corporate bond market posted notable growth in 2024, with cumulative issuance reaching approximately USD 2.5 billion by year-end, according to MAS. Issuers spanned a diverse range of entities including corporations, financial institutions, and SPVs, indicating broadening market acceptance. While digital bond adoption remains at an early stage relative to traditional bond markets, the technology has demonstrated potential to enhance efficiency and lower issuance costs through automation and streamlined settlement processes.

To accelerate mainstream adoption, MAS launched the Global-Asia Digital Bond Grant Scheme (G-ADBGS) in 2025, offering up to SGD 450,000 per eligible issuance. The grant is designed to offset the incremental costs associated with digital bond structuring and distribution, incentivising issuers to experiment with blockchain-based instruments. The initiative aligns with MAS's broader strategy to digitalise bond market infrastructure and position Singapore as a hub for digital asset innovation in capital markets.

Market Outlook and Implications

Asia remains a bright spot for corporate debt issuance, supported by near-term refinancing needs and medium-term financing requirements for the region's net-zero transition, MAS noted in its 2024 market development report. Singapore's ecosystem of banks, investors, and professional service firms, combined with ongoing digitalisation of bond market infrastructure, positions the city-state to channel international capital toward Asia's growth and sustainability financing needs.

The broader financial ecosystem reinforces this outlook. Singapore's assets under management (AUM) exceeded S$6 trillion for the first time in 2024, growing 12.2% year-on-year, driven by both traditional and alternative sectors. The FX market also expanded, with average daily traded volumes surpassing S$1.5 trillion in 2024, underscoring Singapore's deepening role as a global financial hub.

MAS stress tests conducted for the 2024/2025 annual report applied a severe scenario incorporating sharp tightening in global financial conditions, heightened market volatility, trade shocks, and elevated policy uncertainty. Results indicated that Singapore banks have strong capital buffers and healthy liquidity profiles sufficient to weather an extended global recession. Corporates and households are generally resilient, with healthy debt servicing capacities and good financial buffers, though MAS flagged that certain segments remain more vulnerable and should exercise vigilance.

The confluence of robust market infrastructure, policy support through initiatives like the digital bond grant, and resilient financial system fundamentals suggests that Singapore's corporate debt market is poised for sustained growth, reinforcing its role as a regional funding hub for both conventional and digital bond issuance.