Malaysian Bond Market

The local bond market started the week slightly bullish in tandem with UST yields. Bidding interests were seen on benchmarks from the belly to long-end of the curve. This momentum however was short-lived amid mixed sentimenets in global markets. Volume remained tepid after Monday with a slight selling pressure up till Thursday. With that said, market interest was still seen for the 10-year GII 10/28 which saw over RM800mil changing hands on Thursday. As at Friday noon, the 3-, 5-, 7-, 10-, 15-, 20- and 30-year benchmark MGS settled at 3.53%, 3.75%, 3.95%, 4.04%, 4.48%, 4.66% and 4.89% respectively.

Volume for local govvies tapered off to RM10.8bil from last week’s RM17.7bil.

On to the corporate bond space, trading activities for local PDS tapered off slightly in tandem with local govvies; garnering total trade volume of RM2.6bil versus last week’s RM2.9bil. The GG/AAA segment contributed to 57% of total volume, while 36% went to AA names and the remaining 7% came from A-rated papers.

In the GG/AAA segment, notable trades include PLUS Bhd’s 2021-2033 papers which closed mixed with RM187mil traded. PASB’s 2022-2023 tranches on the other hand saw RM145mil traded with yields easing to 4.09%–4.10% levels. Meanwhile, interest was also seen for 2024s PTPTN papers with RM120mil changing hands. Lastly, Danainfra Nasional Bhd’s 2021-2048 tranches saw yields closing between 4.09% and 5.11% levels.

Elsewhere in the AA segment, flows were seen in energy and highway names. Konsortium Lebuhraya UtaraTimur (KL) Sdn Bhd’s 2020-2033 tranches saw RM90mil changing hands; while Sarawak Energy Bhd posting trades of RM89mil with yields for both names easing slightly. Meanwhile, 2021-2031 Jimah East Power Sdn Bhd papers largely closed with firmer prices with RM48mil traded. Gamuda Bhd’s 21s and 23s paper on the other hand closed with mixed yields between 4.51% and 4.72% with RM45mil changing hands.