With just a few weeks left until the end of the year, it is the right time to look back at achievements and developments over recent months and possible outcomes during 2026. In terms of new issuance activity across the domestic corporate bond market, 2025 has undoubtedly been a record year with a value of €717m issued on the Regulated Main Market of the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE).
This represents an increase of approximately 65% over the €437m issued in the previous year and exceeds by more than 50% the prior peak issuance of €470m recorded in 2022.
The issuance figure for 2025 includes the following bonds that are not yet listed but anticipated to be listed by the end of the year: MedservRegis plc (around €22m), Bank of Valletta (BOV) (€125 million), Central Business Centres (€13.3m), and Corinthia Palace Hotel Co Ltd (CPHCL) (€45m). The latter two issuers have yet to confirm the total amount raised.
Issuance activity was heavily concentrated in the second half of 2025 and this also brought about a lot of media attention on the overall state of the bond market and the specific developments of a number of issuers in view of clear difficulties that were and are still being faced.
Incidentally, Central Business Centres plc, which is currently in the process of raising a further €13.3m as part of a bond issuance programme of up to €30m, needed to extend the redemption date on their unlisted €3.25m zero-coupon bonds due at the end of August 2025 by a few months until February 28, 2026.
This unfortunate development, together with the evident challenges of Yacht Lift Malta plc to redeem their €2m Prospects MTF bond due in mid-September 2025, as well as the specific difficulties at DIZZ Group, MIDI, Mediterranean Maritime Hub (MMH) and Shoreline Mall, which all have bonds due for redemption in 2026, have caused the state of the bond market to become a common topic of conversation across many business circles.
€370m in bonds are maturing next year. The €65m pertaining to MedservRegis as well as CPHCL have already been refinanced in recent weeks.
Two IHI bonds are due to mature in 2026, totalling €115m. CPHCL’s recently published financial analysis summary indicates that only €85m of the €115m maturing amount will be refinanced.
MIDI has €50m in bonds maturing in July 2026 against the backdrop of ongoing legal proceedings potentially resulting in the revocation of the emphyteutical concession related to the Manoel Island development project.
“Urgent need for the publication of a quarterly indicative issuance calendar”
Moreover, €15m in bonds issued by MMH are also due to mature in 2026. MMH has publicly disclosed that alternative financing will be required to redeem the bonds at maturity, following unsuccessful attempts to secure a strategic buyer for the concession. Furthermore, MMH has missed multiple deadlines for the publication of its 2024 financial statements, resulting in the suspension of its bonds from trading on the MSE. MMH is reportedly still in discussions with a consortium of prospective investors and a “key financial institution” with a view to securing either a capital injection or a refinancing arrangement.
The DIZZ Group has €8 million in bonds maturing in 2026 and is currently also under close scrutiny following the inclusion of a material uncertainty relating to the going-concern status in the 2024 annual financial statements of the guarantor. The company indicated that it initiated a refinancing strategy, which includes securing bank funding for part of its debt and progressing with the disposal of a commercial centre at Tigné Point to meet its upcoming obligations.
Shoreline Mall has a €14m bond due to mature in 2026. The company is currently involved in a significant legal dispute with its main contractor, Koray Global Malta Ltd, which has resulted in the issuance of a €43m garnishee order against several entities within the Shoreline Group. Shoreline is actively exploring a range of funding solutions to address the bond maturity.
In addition, Premier Capital plc (€65m) together with several smaller bond issues are also due to mature during the course of the next 12 months. These include the €12m bonds issued by Hudson Malta plc, the €15m bond issued by AX Group plc and the remaining €4.9m in bonds issued by Plaza Centres plc following a successful bond buyback over recent years. All of these companies should not encounter any difficulties in refinancing or repaying these bonds.
Moreover, also in the fixed-income space, there will continue to be elevated issuance by the Maltese government again in 2026 as it requires €1.9bn in new MGS issues to refinance existing debt due to mature of almost €1bn and new borrowings of €0.9bn to finance the projected deficit.
Following the important revelations published in last week’s article on the increased participation of foreign banks in the MGS market and the impact on auction prices, it is very important to monitor whether the increased reliance on international banks to raise the required amount in MGSs will continue throughout next year.
The corporate bond market in 2026 will not only be dominated by the outcome of the various companies seeking refinancing ahead of their redemptions but will very likely maintain a similar strong upward trend in terms of new issuance as many more companies understand the benefits of a bond issue to complement their other methods of financing.
In this respect, the MFSA ought to understand the urgent need for the publication of a quarterly indicative issuance calendar to provide visibility to market participants and issuers on the timing and volume of new issuance. This will help to avoid too many concurrent issues similar to that experienced over recent weeks.
Within the context of another potentially hectic year ahead for the bond market, the need for financial intermediaries to educate and guide investors correctly to base their investment decision on the true financial strength and soundness of a company issuing a bond and not be simply guided by the interest rate being offered or any security available in the event of a default, becomes even more relevant.
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