| Who
sells or issues bonds?
Governments,
government agencies and corporations which need funds, for
the bond market is another avenue for raising capital. When
a bond is issued, it means the government or corporation is
borrowing a specified amount of money from the investor for
a specified period of time.
The Malaysian bond market comprises government bonds and private
or corporate bonds. The government bonds were initially issued
to meet the investment needs of the Employee Provident Fund
(EPF) and to fund the budget deficits of the government. Later
bonds were issued to raise funds for financing public sector
developmental expenditure. The main types of government bonds
being traded are Malaysian Treasury Bills (MTB), Bank Negara
Bills (BNB), Malaysian Government Securities (MGS) and Government
Investment Certificates (GIC).
Corporate
bonds, also known as private debt securities (PDS), are issued
by corporations. Such bonds are privately placed with investment
institutions and traded on the secondary market by finance
companies and discount houses. |