Debt and equity capital markets saw vigorous engagement in 2025 as issuers and borrowers stepped up their fundraising forays to finance business growth plans. As the US rates cycle turned last year, the markets took an upward trajectory, generally bucking the tariff-induced economic uncertainties and heightened geopolitical risks. After a lull in activity following US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” in April, the markets started printing deals as the investment sentiment in Asia turned positive, with investors seeking exposure to technology-driven growth stocks and other asset classes.

G3 bond issuance from Asia, outside of Japan and Australasia, rose 15% to US$268.29 billion in 2025, from US$233.28 billion a year ago. According to data from LSEG, the top four markets – China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore – posted bigger volume, offsetting the declines noted in India and the Philippines.

“We’ve seen a continuing strong recovery in the bond market with the interest rates trending lower. We’ve noted large volume in the investment grade space, which continues to dominate the issuances,” says a senior DCM ( debt capital markets ) banker. “The Reg S market is growing in depth as investors are onshoring into Asia, out of the US and Europe, setting up offices in the region with dedicated Reg S money. At the same time, the liquidity of Asian local investors also just continues to grow.”

Adds another senior DCM banker: “We’ve seen a significant bounce back not only in FIG ( financial institution group ) bond supply, which has been a key driver in terms of volume, but in corporate issuances as well. Issuers are also taking advantage of the spread environment and really kicking in within the short end of the credit curve.”

Sovereign issuers

Sovereigns were also at the forefront of fundraising in the G3 bond market in 2025. China’s Ministry of Finance ( MoF ) priced a dual-tranche €4 billion ( US$4.65 billion ) offering in November, marking the largest euro-denominated sovereign bond issuance in Asia-Pacific since 2021. The deal generated strong investor demand with the order book peaking at €104.5 billion, enabling the MoF to tighten pricing. Also in November, the MoF tapped the US dollar bond market with another dual-tranche issuance totalling US$4 billion, achieving a historically tight credit spread for China US dollar-denominated sovereign bonds. Similar with the euro-denominated bond, it achieved an overwhelming demand that peaked at US$121 billion, making it one of the largest US dollar bond order books globally.

In October, South Korea sold 110 billion yen ( US$701.50 million ) worth of Samurai bonds in multi-tranches and US$1 billion in five-year bonds. Earlier in June, it returned to the euro bond market with a €1.4 billion deal, representing its largest-ever euro-denominated bond issuance. The Republic of the Philippines ( RoP ) also came back to the euro bond market in January 2025 with a €1 billion offering for seven years, which was also its inaugural euro-denominated sustainability bond. At the same time, the RoP printed a total of US$2.25 billion in bonds – a 10-year conventional bond amounting to US$1.25 billion and a 25-year sustainability bond amounting to US$1 billion.

But it was the Republic of Indonesia ( RoI ) that emerged as one of the most prolific sovereign bond issuers in the G3 market in 2025, accessing the market at least five times. It first tapped the market in January when it priced a dual-currency multi-tranche deal totalling US$3.63 billion equivalent. It consisted of US$900 million for five years, €700 million each for eight years and 12 years, and another US$1.1 billion for 10 years.

It returned to the market again in May – this time accessing the Samurai bond market for a total of 103.2 billion yen in five tranches, including a blue bond amounting to 3.7 billion yen for 20 years. Amid a constructive market environment in July, RoI tapped the US dollar sukuk market, raising a total of US$2.2 billion, equally split at US$1.1 billion of conventional sukuk and a green sukuk. And demonstrating its commitment to sustainable financing, the sovereign priced in early October a €600 million Sustainable Development Goals ( SDG ) bond, along with a dual-tranche US dollar bond totalling US$1.85 billion.

The RoI then made a return trip to the US dollar sukuk market in November, printing a dual-tranche deal totalling US$2 billion. This is the first time that the sovereign accessed the sukuk market twice in a year.

High-yield bond issuance also picked up in 2025, posting a higher volume of US$6.21 billion, compared with US$4.27 billion in 2024. LSEG data show the deals were issued from Hong Kong ( US$2.86 billion ), China ( US$1.75 billion ), India ( US$1 billion ), and Singapore ( US$596.26 million ). From China, the issuers included China Hongqiao Group for US$330 million and Seazen Group for US$300 million – the latter representing the first offshore bond printed by a Chinese privately-owned real estate company in the past three years.

Increasingly, a number of issuers from Southeast Asia and India are actively diversifying their funding sources and their funding currencies. The banks in Singapore took the lead in terms of accessing a number of different currency markets

Shift to local currency

Meanwhile, the shift towards local-currency ( LCY ) funding continued in 2025 as indicated by the strong surge in proceeds to US$4.55 trillion equivalent from US$4.02 trillion in the previous year, according to LSEG. Lower financing cost is driving the issuers and borrowers to LCY pools, such as CNH, which are extremely liquid. LCY financing also mitigates the foreign exchange risk as well as match the corporates’ debt service obligation better with local revenues.

“Increasingly, a number of issuers from Southeast Asia and India are actively diversifying their funding sources and their funding currencies,” another senior banker points out. “The banks in Singapore took the lead in terms of accessing a number of different currency markets like the US dollar, euro, sterling, Australian dollar, CNH, Hong Kong dollar, and even some private placements in Malaysian ringgit. It’s a very broad basket of currencies and the Singapore bank volume is a meaningful number for Southeast Asia.”

The banker adds: “It’s a fairly conducive market. The current spread has helped a lot and several issuers have taken advantage of the current environment and arranged their fundraising on a spread basis.”

As part of its ongoing strategy to diversify its funding sources for the state budget and expand its global investor base, the RoI tapped for the first time the Australian bond market in October with an A$800 million ( US$536.90 million ) deal, which attracted strong demand. It also debuted in October in the offshore renminbi bond market with a 6 billion yuan ( US$857.10 million ) dual-tranche offering.

The syndicated loan volume, meanwhile, declined for the second year in a row to US$396.97 billion in 2025 from US$441.32 billion in 2024, according to LSEG data, with China suffering a steep fall from US$136.42 billion to US$82.56 billion during the period. Loan volumes were also lower in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, while increases were recorded in Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, and the Philippines.

Strong rebound for equities

Equity capital markets activity rebounded strongly in 2025, with the total volume rising 40% to US$235.14 billion, compared with US$167.92 billion in 2024. More than half of the transaction volume originated from China, at US$124.62 billion, which was more than double the US$60.92 billion proceeds in 2024. The value of initial public offerings ( IPOs ) out of China in 2025 increased to US$26.66 billion from US$14.58 billion in the previous year, with Contemporary Amperex Technology Company ( CATL ) raising US$5.25 billion in its A-to-H Hong Kong IPO. This is the largest IPO globally since 2023 and the largest H-share IPO by an A-share listed company. About 90% of the proceeds were allocated to advancing the company’s project in Hungary, which holds strategic significance for its international business expansion and global footprint.

In 2026, PwC anticipates that, despite the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, the overall trend of falling interest rates will boost investor confidence. This will be complemented by favourable government policies, making Hong Kong’s IPO market likely to continue its robust performance

Several billion-dollar Hong Kong IPOs of Chinese companies were also recorded for the likes of Foshan Haitian Flavouring & Food Company ( US$1.35 billion ), Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls Company ( US$1.37 billion ), Chery Automobile ( US$1.34 billion ), Sanyu Heavy Industry ( US$1.73 billion ), and Seres Group ( US$1.84 billion ).

With the slew of Chinese companies arranging their IPOs in Hong Kong, a report by PwC released on January 5 notes that the territory has reclaimed the top global position in terms of IPO funds raised in 2025, reaching HK$285.8 billion ( US$36.65 billion ). In 2026, PwC anticipates that, despite the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, the overall trend of falling interest rates will boost investor confidence. This will be complemented by favourable government policies, making Hong Kong’s IPO market likely to continue its robust performance. It anticipates the IPO funds raised to reach HK$350 billion in 2026, supported by listings of high-end manufacturing and tech companies.

India also stood out when it comes to IPO in 2025, with a volume of US$21.80 billion, as this market maintained the momentum noted in 2024 when the total volume amounted to US$20.48 billion. Tata Capital led the capital raising with US$1.75 billion worth of proceeds, representing the largest Indian IPO in 2025 and the largest private sector FIG IPO ever in India. What also captured the market attention in 2025 was the US$1.31 billion IPO by LG Electronics India, which is the largest consumer durables IPO ever in this market. This is the second Korean-owned company to list in India, following Hyundai Motor India in October 2024, which raised a record US$3.3 billion – the biggest IPO ever in India.

Other marquee IPOs that came out of India in 2025 included the US$828 million share sale for Lenskart, the largest Indian new-age consumer company, and the US$1 billion IPO for Hexaware, which was the largest IT services IPO globally during the past decade and the largest re-listing of a corporate ever in India. Another notable IPO was that of Groww, a direct-to-consumer digital investment platform, which raised US$751 million in the largest fintech IPO since 2021.

Healthy appetite for CBs

Convertible bonds continued to find favour among issuers and investors as the volume of issuance in Asia, outside of Japan and Australia, surged 46.5% to US$39.44 billion in 2025 from US$26.92 billion in the preceding year. According to LSEG, China accounted for 62.3% of the CB deal flow last year with US$24.58 billion, up from US$21.90 billion in 2024. Alibaba Group Holding figured in two large transactions, raising US$3.2 billion in September in what was the largest equity-linked offering last year, and in HK$12 billion exchangeable bond to Alibaba Health Information Technology in July. This was the largest-ever Hong Kong dollar-denominated exchangeable bond transaction and the largest Hong Kong dollar-denominated equity-linked deal since 2018. The offering achieved the highest exchange premium by an exchangeable bond issuer in Asia-Pacific in the past decade.

Taiwan also witnessed brisk CB issuances in 2025 with a total volume of US$6.49 billion, against US$3.92 billion a year ago. Electronics manufacturer Wistron Corporation raised the largest-ever Taiwan equity-linked transaction in October with US$1.2 billion, achieving the first negative yield for a Taiwan CB since 2021. Quanta Computer raised US$1 billion in September as it tapped the market on the back of the strong rebound in its share price.

Other large equity capital markets transactions in 2025 included the US$5.6 billion primary placement for BYD Company in March, representing the biggest follow-on transaction in the global automotive industry in the past decade, with the proceeds used to support the company’s research and development programme, overseas expansion, as well as supplement its working capital requirements. Also in March, Xiaomi Corporation raised US$5.5 billion in a share sale to finance its electric vehicle manufacturing plans.

Picking up where it left off in 2025, G3 bond issuance in Asia kick-started strongly in 2026 with more than a dozen mandates announced in the first full week of January. Leading the plethora of transactions are two policy banks – Export-Import Bank of Korea ( Kexim ) and the Export-Import Bank of India ( Eximbank India ). Kexim printed on January 6 a multi-tranche transaction totalling US$3.5 billion, including a US$1.25 billion green bond for three years. The deal garnered a strong order book totalling US$14.5 billion across all tranches.

The strong demand for the 30-year tranche is a clear sign of the confidence that global investors have in the Indian economy and in Eximbank India itself

Eximbank India priced a dual-tranche US$1 billion transaction a day earlier, equally split at US$500 million each for 10 years and 30 years. In what a senior Indian banker described as a watershed issuance, the 30-year tranche is the first-ever such tenor printed by an Indian bank in the international bond markets, thus establishing a new benchmark for the Indian banking sector. The transaction achieved the lowest spread ever over treasuries by any Indian issuer in the public US dollar bond markets on both the 10-year and the 30-year tenors. The 10-year issuance was priced inside the Eximbank India’s secondary curve.

Commenting on the transaction, Eximbank India managing director Harsha Bangari says the successful issuance demonstrates the strength and depth of the investor base, which the bank has cultivated in offshore capital markets, allowing it to efficiently raise funds. “The strong demand for the 30-year tranche is a clear sign of the confidence that global investors have in the Indian economy and in Eximbank India itself,” she adds.

In addition, the quasi-sovereign nature of Eximbank India, its strong credit profile and the EMBIG ( Emerging Market Bond Index Global ) eligibility of the bonds garnered significant interest from marquee investors, with a peak order book exceeding US$8 billion, which is the highest ever for any public US dollar bond issuance from an Indian financial institution.

Clifford Capital, the Singapore-headquartered infrastructure credit platform, also raised US$1 billion in senior unsecured guaranteed notes in equal tranches of US$500 million each for three years and five years – the proceeds of which are earmarked to support the company’s ongoing infrastructure debt origination, distribution and investment activities.

One of Asia’s most frequent issuers, Korea Housing Finance Corporation ( KHFC ), also went to the market early in 2026 with social notes amounting to US$1 billion in two equal tranches of US$500 million each, generating a total demand of US$5.9 billion.

Thai Oil and CAS Holding-HKT demonstrated the continuing robust appetite for perpetual securities, printing in January US$600 million and US$675 million, respectively, with the demand for both deals driven by asset and fund managers. Other US dollar-denominated bond deals that were priced in the first week of January included those for BOC Aviation ( US$500 million ), Agricultural Bank of China ( New York ) ( US$600 million ), Swire Properties ( US$500 million ), and Far East Horizon ( US$400 million ).