KUALA LUMPUR: Cagamas Bhd, Malaysia's National Mortgage Corporation, raised RM2.2 billion in October, highlighting its commitment to bolstering the Malaysian housing market amid challenging financial conditions.
"The successful conclusion of our fundraising activities in October, despite continued volatility in the local and global fixed income market, reaffirms our role as a secondary mortgage corporation in providing liquidity to primary lenders of home financing and housing loans," said the company's president and chief executive officer Kameel Abdul Halim.
Highlighting the strong international interest in Cagamas' bonds, Kameel noted that the SG$ issuance was "fully subscribed by foreign investors, including asset managers and financial institutions."
The amount raised included RM400 million in Islamic Medium-Term Notes (IMTNs), RM100 million in Conventional Medium-Term Notes (CMTNs), RM575 million in Islamic Commercial Papers (ICPs), and RM150 million in Conventional Commercial Papers (CCPs).
The company also issued 1-year Singapore Dollar Medium-Term Notes (SGD EMTNs) worth SG$305 million (around RM1 billion) via its subsidiary, Cagamas Global P.L.C.
This latest issuance has brought Cagamas' cumulative SG$-denominated issuance for the year to SG$525 million, while total funds raised in 2024 reached RM15.2 billion.
Cagamas supports home ownership and the expansion of Malaysia's secondary mortgage market by issuing bonds and sukuk to finance the purchase of housing loans.
The company's bonds and sukuk hold top credit ratings—AAA/Stable/P1 from RAM Rating Services Berhad and AAA/MARC-1 from the Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad, along with an A3 rating from Moody's Investors Service, matching Malaysia's sovereign ratings and reflecting its strong credit quality.
As the second-largest debt issuer in Malaysia after the government, Cagamas has cumulatively raised around RM439 billion since 1986, making it the largest AAA corporate bond and sukuk issuer in the Malaysian market.
Demand for Cagamas' foreign currency bonds remains resilient across diverse investor profiles, reflecting strong confidence in our issuance," Kameel remarked, signaling the company's continued appeal to investors seeking reliable returns amid global economic uncertainty.