Global convertible bond issuance for 2026 has outpaced 2021 and is the best YTD issuance on record, with USD 161.5bn raised across 405 deals as on 22 July.

The volume is 23.6% higher than the former YTD record of USD 130.7bn set in 2021,  according to Dealogic.

Global convertible issuance has never surpassed USD 200bn over a full year but the pace of issuance over the last few months means its a milestone that could be seen this year.

Volume is being driven by deals in the Americas, with a 64.94% share and Asia Pacific with 28.08%. EMEA is still a laggard contributing only 6.93% of global issuance so far this year.

Mega deals (USD 1bn+ raises) have been the driving force accounting for more than 50% issuance volume.

Artifical intelligence capex is the theme of 2026 as companies engaged in the computers & electronics sector have raised USD 86.23bn from 139 transactions which translates to 53.4% of the total volume.

In 2025, there was USD 86.46bn of volume from 265 deals in the computer & electronics sector.

The remaining top sectors this year so far include healthcare with USD 12.7bn (7.86%), followed by traditional investment-heavy industries like Utility & Energy (USD 8.6bn; 5.33%) and Metal & Steel (USD 8.59bn; 5.32%), and transportation (USD 6.79bn; 4.2%). The four sectors only accounted for 22.71% of the total issuance.

Americas

In the Americas, USD 104.9bn has been raised from 181 convertible issues, up 70% compared to USD 61.6bn from 213 deals YoY. The average deal size has seen a sharp spike to USD 579m from USD 289m.

Nine of the top 10 raises globally were priced on US exchanges and by technology companies.

Alphabet’s USD 9.625bn Class A share convertible plus another USD 9.625bn Class C share convertible contributed a huge USD 19.25bn to deal volumes in June. The twin bonds, maturing in 2029 are the top two raises in the Americas, and globally, and are the best examples of how AI capex is driving issuance.

The combination raise was part of broader USD 85bn equity program launched by the Mountain View, California-based technology conglomerate to fund its AI infrastructure investment.  The second largest deal for the region and globally was Oracle’s USD 5bn convertible bond issued in February.

Asia Pacific

In APAC, there have been USD 45.36bn of convertible issuance from 196 deals compared to USD 23.57bn from 135 issuances YoY.

Hong Kong was the busiest exchange in the region with 27 papers worth USD 19.7bn equivalent, followed by Japan which saw 30 issuances worth USD 7.8bn, Taiwan with 90 deals worth USD 7.7bn, and China with 41 transactions worth USD 7.6bn.

Hong Kong was the most active in terms of USD 1bn plus CB deals with nine printed, followed by two in Japan and one each in China, Taiwan, and South Korea.

The proceeds were mainly earmarked for working capital needs, repayment of debt, or expansion purposes.

EMEA

Even with companies in the region seemingly missing the AI capex issuance race, volumes are 67% higher compared to last year. So far, there has been USD 11.2bn worth of paper issued in EMEA from 28 deals compared to USD 6.7bn from 20 bonds YTD in 2025.

Issuance was mainly used for balance-sheet management and refinancing.

Schneider Electric’s USD 988m equivalent CB, issued in June, was the the largest CB in EMEA so far. The region’s last USD 1bn plus was priced in September 2023 when ENI raised USD 1.07bn.