Volumes of listed corporate bonds on Nasdaq’s Nordic markets surged to a record high in 2016, having increased 54% since 2011.
The total value of listed corporate bonds in 2016 on Nasdaq’s Nordic’s main markets reached €65.8 billion, up 5% from the year prior.
Nasdaq said a large proportion of the growth came from the Swedish market, which made up 71% of the total listed corporate bond volume.
Despite Swedish real estate and financial companies representing the majority of the listed corporate debt in 2016, Nasdaq saw an increase in primary debt markets for capital in online gaming and health food companies through several new listings.
Nasdaq First North also set a new record in 2016, with a total of 17 bonds totalling €404 million listed throughout the year.
Ann-Charlotte Eliasson, head of Nordic fixed income at Nasdaq, explained the First North bond market has “improved the ability of small and medium size companies to attain external financing, providing a compelling alternative to loan funding in light of increasingly strict capital requirements on banks.”
She added the sustainable bond market in 2016 raised €1.2 billion, bringing the total volume of sustainable bonds to €1.9 billion.
“When we launched the [sustainable bond] market in 2015, it was the first Sustainable Bond Market in the world.
“We are proud to have listed 36 instruments since then and look forward to welcoming many more in the future,” she said.