KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has overtaken the government as the top bond issuer in the country during the third quarter of the year, according to data from Bond Pricing Agency Malaysia Sdn Bhd's (BPAM) Bond League Tables released on Tuesday.

The central bank made RM74.5 billion worth of issuances in the three-month period ended Sept 30 this year.

Nonetheless, the most traded bonds in the country were those issued by Putrajaya, with total traded value amounting to RM216.53 billion in 3Q, said BPAM.

In 2Q, the government was named the top bond issuer after raising RM61.45 billion during the quarter.

BPAM’s Bond League Tables highlights Malaysian bond market performance and rankings of key bond market players.

The biggest corporate bond issuer in 3Q was Cagamas Bhd, which issued RM2.9 billion worth of debt papers, while Lembaga Pembiayaan Perumahan Sektor Awam was the largest sukuk issuer, raising RM4 billion during the quarter under review.

Cagamas’ debt papers were also the most traded corporate bond in 3Q, worth a total of RM410 million, while the top traded sukuk were those issued by DanaInfra Nasional Bhd, valued at RM5.25 billion.

Malaysian Trustees Bhd was named the top bond trustee by value and by issuance, it was also the top conventional bond and sukuk trustee by value.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd was the top lead arranger by value in 3Q, having handled a total value of RM13.08 billion.

In terms of number of issuances, CIMB Investment Bank Bhd was top, having handled 145 issues during 3Q.