Investment banks see bond deals slow as issuance falls 3.8%

Regional issuers still secured $2.5t through primary offerings excluding Japan.

Investment banks in Asia-Pacific handled fewer bond underwriting deals in the first half of 2026 as primary bond issuance declined 3.8% from a year earlier, although fundraising remained above the $2t mark for only the second time on record.

The number of bond issues also fell 12.5% year on year, according to the London Stock Exchange Group's (LSEG) Deals Intelligence team.

Issuers in the region, excluding Japan, raised $2.5t through primary bond offerings during the first six months of the year, down from the record first half of 2025. 

Despite the decline, LSEG said it was only the second time since records began in 1980 that first-half bond issuance had exceeded $2t.

China remained the region's largest bond market, raising $2t and accounting for 80% of total proceeds, although issuance was 5% lower than a year earlier.

Australia ranked second, with proceeds rising 33.3% year on year to $148.9b, giving it a 5.9% market share. 
South Korea placed third, raising $137.9b, down 11.3% from the same period last year, representing a 5.5% share of regional issuance.

Government and agency issuers remained the largest source of bond fundraising, accounting for 46.4% of total proceeds with $1.2t raised, broadly unchanged from a year earlier.

The financial sector followed with $836.1b in issuance, down 6.7% year on year and representing 33.3% of the market. 
Industrial companies raised $197.3b, a 6.8% decline from the previous year, accounting for 7.9% of total proceeds.

Amongst investment banks, CITIC led the Asia-Pacific bond underwriting league table with a 6.2% market share, having underwritten $156.1b of bond proceeds during the first half of the year.