If the plethora of transactions priced in January is of any indication, Asia’s capital markets are poised to sustain in 2026 the brisk deal flows manifested in 2025 as issuers and borrowers rush to access the debt and equity markets at the start of the year to raise their funding requirements.

Both the G3 and local currency bond markets are busy printing deals as the interest rates trended lower creating a conducive issuance window amid the continuing abundance of liquidity that’s fuelling the activity across the region.

Picking up where it left off in 2025, the issuance in G3 bonds in Asia, outside of Japan and Australasia, sustained its brisk pace in January this year, raising a total of US$41.64 billion, up from US$39.84 billion in the same period a year ago – the highest January volume in five years, according to LSEG. The total amount of equity capital markets transactions surged from US$7.61 billion to US$21.66 billion during the same period, largely driven by China deals whose volume climbed more than five times from US$3.15 billion to US$17.03 billion.

The largest transactions in January included a US$1.5 billion convertible bond (CB) by Jinkai Investment Holdings, US$1.28 billion follow-on offering by Eastroc Beverage (Group) and a US$1.2 billion CB by CMOC Capital.

The initial public offering (IPO) market started on a strong note with proceeds of US$5.05 billion in January this year, compared with US$3.69 billion a year earlier. Nine of the top 10 IPOs in January were from China, based on LSEG data, and just one from India. Three Chinese high technology companies recorded the biggest IPOs in January led by Minimax Group, which raised US$711.49 million, Knowledge Atlas Technology US$558.31 million and Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor US$472.19 million.

Several of Asia’s most frequent issuers were among the early visitors in the G3 bond market this year. India’s policy bank, the Export-Import Bank of India (Eximbank India), priced on January 5 a two-tranche deal totalling US$1 billion in two equal tranches of US$500 million each for 10 years and 30 years – the latter being the first-ever such tenor arranged by any Indian bank in the international bond market. The deal 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 also priced inside the Eximbank India’s secondary curve.

Another policy bank, Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim), followed suit on January 6, printing a US$3.5 billion bond in four-tranches that included a green bond amounting to US$1.25 billion for three years. The Securities Exchange Commission-registered transaction garnered a total order book of US$14.5 billion, enabling the bank to tighten pricing across all tranches.

As in the previous years, the Republic of Indonesia (RoI) and the Republic of the Philippines (RoP) spearheaded the Asian sovereign issuances in the G3 bond market in 2026. The RoI raised a total of US$2.7 billion in three tranches on January 12 with tenors of five, 10 and 30 years. Capitalizing on investor liquidity amid an increasingly challenging market backdrop, the deal managed to generate an orderbook exceeding US$7.7 billion, allowing the sovereign to achieve tighter pricing.

The RoP followed on January 20 raising a total of US$2.7 billion also in three tranches of 5.5, 10 and 25 years. The offering attracted a total demand of US$5.95 billion as the government policy direction and reform agenda continued to resonate among the global investors.

Other large US dollar bond issuances in January were arranged for Perusahaan Listrik Negara of Indonesia (US$1.5 billion), Clifford Capital of Singapore (US$1 billion), SK Battery America of South Korea (US$1 billion) and Korea Housing Finance Corporation (US$1 billion).

Issuers and borrowers also demonstrated their appetite for local currency funding as exemplified by Hong Kong rail operator and property developer MTR Corporation. The company has diversified its funding sources as it announced on January 22 the pricing of its inaugural Australian dollar bond amounting to A$2 billion (US$1.41 billion) in equal tranches of A$1 billion each for five and 12 years. The transaction, in green bond format, is the largest-ever Australian dollar corporate green bond and it achieved the largest-ever orderbook for an Australian dollar corporate deal in history amounting to A$12.5 billion.

The transaction is yet another step in one of MTR’s holistic financing strategies. “The issuance of our inaugural Australian dollar green bonds is the next step in our efforts to maintain a highly diversified funding base to drive business growth,” says MTR finance director Michael Fitzgerald in a statement. “The proceeds will further strengthen MTR’s financial foundation and enhance flexibility to support our capital investment programme that enables us to build more vibrant communities and uphold our service excellence. In addition, the transaction also further deepens the participation of Asian credits in the Australian dollar market.”

Two Hong Kong issuers also pivoted to the Hong Kong dollar bond market to take advantage of cheaper funding cost driving more activity in the domestic debt market. Hongkong Electric sold its inaugural Hong Kong dollar bond on January 5 amounting to HK$2 billion (US$255.91 million) for five years and then accessed the US dollar bond market on January 27, pricing a US$500 million offering for 10 years.

The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) also tapped the Hong Kong dollar bond market on January 6 for HK$8 billion in two tranches comprising HK$5 billion for five years and HK$3 billion for 10 years. The deal attracted a diverse range of high quality local and international investors and generated an order book that peaked at over HK$25 billion. The bond proceeds will primarily be used to fund capital expenditure on urban renewal projects, reaffirming URA’s firm commitment, it notes, “to building a better Hong Kong through community-centric urban renewal”.

The Asian Development Bank also returned to the Hong Kong dollar bond market pricing on January 6 an education-themed notes amounting to HK$5 billion for three years – the proceeds of which will be used to finance a pool of projects related to the education sector in its member-countries. The bank previously tapped the Hong Kong dollar bond market in June 2025 when it raised HK$4 billion in health-themed bonds – the proceeds of which were earmarked to finance a pool of projects related to the health sector.

The sustained appetite for G3 bonds in January followed the brisk issuance activity in 2025 in which the total volume in Asia, outside of Japan and Australasia, rose 15% to US$268.29 billion, compared with US$233.28 billion in 2024. Issuance from China, LSEG data show, topped the league table amounting to US$84.24 billion in 2025, up slightly from US$80.63 billion in the previous year. Higher volumes were also noted in South Korea at US$70.67 billion (up 17.3%), Hong Kong US$32.48 billion (up 44.8%), Singapore US$19.75 billion (up 79.3%), Indonesia US$13.44 billion (up 6%) and Malaysia US$7.95 billion (up 191.3%).

Activity in the high yield bond space picked-up in 2025 as the volume of issuance rose to US$6.21 billion, against US$4.27 billion in 2024. The deals, according to LSEG, 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 amounting to US$330 million and the 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.

Equity capital markets activity rebounded strongly in 2025 with the total volume surging 40% to US$235.14 billion, compared with US$167.92 billion in 2024. China accounted for more than half of the transaction volume with US$124.62 billion, which was more than double the US$60.92 billion proceeds in 2024. The value of 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 in May. 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.

Another popular Hong Kong IPO of a Chinese company was that of Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, which raised US$1.47 billion also in May 2025. This was the largest ever healthcare IPO globally by market capitalization and the largest healthcare IPO globally since 2021. The company made a solid trading debut with its share price closing 25.2% higher at HK$55.15 from its IPO price of HK$44.05.

Zijin Gold International Company raised HK$25 billion in another IPO in September, representing the largest gold mining IPO globally. The international offering tranche was 20.4 times subscribed, while the Hong Kong public tranche for retail investors was 240.7 times covered. The IPO attracted 26 cornerstone investors, including GIC, BlackRock, Schroders and Fidelity International, which altogether subscribed for HK$12.5 billion worth of shares. The stock debuted strongly and closed 68.5% higher to HK$120.60 from its offer price of HK$71.59 on its first day of trading in September.

India also stood out when it comes to IPOs 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 financial institution group 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 significant 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. The transaction witnessed strong reception from investors across categories with 57% of the anchor book placed with domestic institutional investors and 43% with foreign institutional investors.

Convertible bonds (CBs) bounced back in 2025 as the deal volume rose to US$39.44 billion from US$26.91 billion a year ago. Deals from China accounted for over 62% of the transactions valued at US$24.58 billion, compared with US$21.90 billion in 2024. Taiwan also recorded an active CB market with a deal volume amounting to over US$6.49 billion in 2025, against US$3.92 billion in the previous year.

Such strong deal flows provided the competitive landscape as the board of editors at The Asset reviewed and evaluated the performance of the best banks and advisers vying for The Triple A Awards for Sustainable Finance 2026. The brisk activity in debt and equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and structured finance, offer a compelling backdrop for the selection of best bank for sustainable finance, best ESG bank, best corporate and institutional adviser, best G3 bond adviser and best loan adviser – the winners of which will be announced Oscar-style at a gala dinner to be held on March 31 at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong.

For the complete list of best issuers, please click here.

For the complete list of best banks and best advisers, winners and nominees, please click here.

For more information about the awards gala schedule for March 31 2026, please contact us at celebrate@theasset.com.