KUALA LUMPUR (April 8): Malaysia’s loan activity remained flattish from 24 deals in 2020 to 23 last year.
In a statement on Thursday (April 7), Maybank Investment Bank (IB), however, said loan volumes rebounded 43% year-on-year, hitting US$9.3 billion (about RM39.26 billion) in 2021.
It said volumes were dominated by the financial and real estate sectors at 48% and 28% respectively.
Maybank IB head of investment banking and advisory Kevin Davies said there had been healthy investor appetite for Malaysian credits, coupled with abundant liquidity in the country.
“This is evidenced by the strong year-on-year growth in syndicated loan volumes with an increase in loan financing activities.
“As a whole, borrowers have been demonstrating signs of business improvement and we expect the overall volume to grow at a faster pace in 2022 as our market moves towards the recovery phase,” he said.
Davies said growth is also expected as the public sector increases its participation in the syndication market, driven in part by marked increases in green, social and sustainability and sustainability-linked loans.
He said demand for sustainable finance in Malaysia will continue to be driven by government infrastructure projects, such as low-carbon public transportation, renewable energy as well as water infrastructure and water management.
Meanwhile, Maybank IB said it had been named Malaysia Syndicated Loan House of the Year by the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA) for the second consecutive year based on votes from APLMA members.
Maybank IB was a joint mandated lead arranger and bookrunner for Battersea Phase 3 Holding Co Ltd’s £895 million (about RM4.94 billion) term loan, Lotuss Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd’s RM2.3 billion syndicated loan and Malayan Cement Bhd’s RM2 billion syndicated facility.
The latter two were among several high-profile Malaysian borrowers that tapped the syndication market with tremendous success last year.
Besides Malaysia, Maybank IB also won Vietnam Syndicated Loan House of the Year for the first time.