Singapore bond boom leaves investment banks with 30.2% fee drop

Debt capital markets generated just $56.1m.

Singapore bond issuance rose to a record in the first half of 2026, led by banks and other financial institutions, even as debt capital markets underwriting fees declined sharply.

Primary bond offerings from Singapore-domiciled issuers reached $20.6b in the six months to June, up 16.7% from the same period last year and the strongest first-half total on record, according to London Stock Exchange Group data.

The number of issues increased 14.3% to a five-year high. Financial institutions accounted for 69.8% of issuance, raising $14.4b, up 5.7% year on year. 

Activity included offerings from DBS Bank, United Overseas Bank and OCBC Bank.

Government and agency issuers raised $3.4b, more than double the amount recorded in the first half of 2025 and equivalent to 16.5% of the market. 

Industrial companies raised $864.4m, down 16.3%, accounting for 4.2% of issuance.

OCBC led the Singapore-domiciled bond underwriting league table, handling $2.5b of related proceeds for a 12.1% market share.

The increase in bond issuance came despite lower fees for debt capital markets bankers. DCM fees fell 30.2% year on year to $56.1m during the first half.

Overall investment banking fees generated in Singapore rose 3.1% to an estimated $418.4m, the highest first-half total in four years. 

Singapore accounted for 3.0% of Asia-Pacific investment banking fees and 48.9% of the Southeast Asian fee pool. Across Southeast Asia, fees fell 6.0% from a year earlier.

Fees from completed mergers and acquisitions increased 8.5% to $142.5m, a three-year high, whilst equity capital markets underwriting fees fell 6.1% to $85.7m. 

Syndicated lending fees rose 30.3% to $134.2m.

DBS Group Holdings ranked first in Singapore's overall investment banking fee league table, with $50.1m in fees and a 12.0% market share.

M&A involving Singapore also increased sharply during the period, with announced deals reaching $77.4b, more than double the level recorded a year earlier and the strongest first half since 2021.

Activity was concentrated in the first quarter. Second-quarter deal value fell 53.5% from the previous quarter to $24.6b, although it was still 50.0% higher than in the second quarter of 2025.

Ten transactions worth more than $1b each contributed $52.7b, or 68.0% of total M&A activity.

Deals targeting Singapore companies rose 87.0% to $28.1b, whilst domestic M&A tripled to $13.5b, the strongest first-half level since 2020. Inbound M&A increased 33.4% to $14.6b.

Outbound M&A reached a record $37.6b, supported by Anthropic's $30b funding round led by GIC, which LSEG said was the largest deal involving an Asia-Pacific participant so far this year.

Technology accounted for the largest share of Singapore-related M&A, with $43.6b of deals, or 56.3% of the total. Real estate followed with $8.7b, or 11.3%, whilst telecommunications accounted for $6.7b, or 8.7%.

Morgan Stanley topped the announced M&A league table for deals involving Singapore, advising on $13.7b of transactions for a 17.7% market share.

Singapore's equity capital markets also recorded higher proceeds. Equity and equity-related issuance reached $3.6b in the first half, up 7.4% from a year earlier and the strongest start since 2020, although the number of issues fell 41.9%.

Follow-on offerings by Singapore-domiciled companies raised $2.3b, the highest first-half amount in seven years.

Five Singapore companies completed initial public offerings during the period, raising $878.1m, up 71.5% from the first half of 2025. All five listed locally. 

Two IPOs were completed in the second quarter, raising a combined $86.2m, including JustCo's listing on the SGX Mainboard and Kin Global's listing on SGX Catalist.

Real estate issuers accounted for 85.6% of equity capital markets proceeds, raising $3.0b, with real estate investment trusts making up six of the eight largest deals during the period.

DBS led the Singapore-domiciled equity and equity-linked underwriting league table, with $757.8m in related proceeds.