The Thomson Reuters BPAM All Bond Index posted a gain of 0.12 per cent to end the week at 138.97. The ringgit bond market was relatively quiet as the week was shortened due to the Lunar New Year holiday.
On economic news, Malaysia’s consumer price index (CPI) contracted by 1.1 per cent in January from the previous month, December 2014.
The contraction was attributed to the Transport category where lower fuel cost had lowered the reading by 9.4 per cent from the previous month. On the year-on-year comparison, inflation for January 2015 had increased at a slower rate of one per cent as a result of decreases in the indices for Transport, Communication and Clothing & Footwear category.
On the international front, the limelight was on Greece’s debt woes as talks between Greece and its eurozone creditors had reached an impasse on Monday after Greece had rejected a proposal to extend the current bailout deal, scheduled to end on February 28, 2015. Without striking a deal before its current bailout deal expires, Greece is likely to run out of money by the end of March.
Top 10 most active bonds:
Trading volume of the top 10 most active bonds in the ringgit bond market was dominated by sovereign bonds. However, total trading volume for the week dwindled to RM5.2 billion from previous week’s trading volume of RM16.5 billion due to shorter trading days.
New bond(s):
On February 16, 2015, Orix Leasing Malaysia Bhd issued a one-year Medium Term Notes (MTN) amounting to RM50 million. The MTN carries a coupon rate of 4.4 per cent and the issuance is rated AA3 by RAM Ratings.
On the same day, Sabah Credit Corporation issued a RM130 million Islamic Medium Term Notes (IMTN). The seven-year IMTN carries a profit rate of 4.9 per cent and is rated AA1 by RAM Ratings.
On February 17, 2015, Sabah Development Bank Bhd issued a RM180 million one-year MTN. The MTN, rated AA1 by RAM Ratings, carries a coupon rate of 4.33 per cent.