Bond Update: GLP Yield Approaches 20%, Is This a High-Yield Opportunity or a Default trap?

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Published on 15 Jul 2026
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In late March, we analysed how GLP’s USD bond prices fell sharply following regulatory rumours (see our previous article: “Bond Update: Better Debt Metrics Overshadowed by Regulatory Uncertainty? Reasons for GLP Bond Price”). Since then, GLP’s USD bonds have rebounded noticeably from their lows. The rumour that insurance companies would be prohibited from increasing holdings never developed into concrete regulatory action. As the risk premium retraced, the price of “GLPSP 9.750% 20May2028 Corp (USD)” recovered from a low of around 78 to 85 (see Chart 1). Market confidence received further support after the company released its full-year 2025 results in May and as progress on its Hong Kong IPO continued.

Chart 1: GLP Bond Price

IPO: The Key Credit Variable

According to market reports in early June, GLP plans to raise up to approximately USD 3 billion through a Hong Kong IPO, targeting a listing in Q4 2026. It remains unclear, however, whether the listing vehicle will encompass the entire group or focus solely on the China business. The latter would carry risk characteristics closely overlapping with the China regulatory concerns that triggered the earlier price drop.

The company had already appointed Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and other banks as underwriters in December last year. Reuters also reported in March that GLP was targeting a valuation of around USD 20 billion. Despite these developments, everything remains at the “market sources” stage: the company has not confirmed the plans, no formal listing application has been submitted, and there has been no visible progress on cornerstone investors. This increases execution uncertainty around the IPO.

What is clear is that GLP’s probability of successfully completing a listing is materially higher than it was a year ago, although the exact timing and choice of listing vehicle remain uncertain. Positive factors include a committed underwriting syndicate, increasingly concrete discussions on valuation and deal size, a buoyant Hong Kong new-issue market, and strong capex needs and robust demand for data centres in China — all of which provide motivation for a listing. On the risk side, the listing vehicle is still undecided, timelines have slipped repeatedly, and the company has a track record of listing plans that ultimately did not materialise (for example, the proposed Hong Kong REIT listing in 2021).

From a credit perspective, the mere fact that the IPO is “progressing” has already sent a positive signal that GLP possesses equity-raising capability and can reduce its reliance on debt refinancing. This has been one of the drivers behind the recent bond price recovery. Nevertheless, we believe the listing still carries meaningful uncertainty and should not be viewed as a guaranteed event. Bond investment decisions should therefore continue to focus primarily on GLP’s underlying credit fundamentals.

2025 Business Performance: Revenue Impacted by Disposal; Data Centres Drive Growth

GLP reported total revenue of USD 1.93 billion for 2025, down 11% year-on-year. The decline was primarily due to the completion of the sale of its non-China fund management business (GCP International) in March 2025, which caused management fee income to drop 47% YoY (see Chart 2). The clear growth highlight remained the data centre business, where revenue rose 32% YoY to USD 250 million. GLP’s full-year net profit reached USD 2.48 billion (2024: –USD 1.8 billion), although this figure was heavily influenced by a one-off gain of approximately USD 3.5 billion from the GCP International disposal.

Chart 2: GLP’s Revenue

Excluding the one-off gain, core EBITDA grew 7% YoY to USD 770 million, indicating that recurring operating performance was broadly stable. Around 85% of GLP’s revenue is recurring in nature. Within this, logistics occupancy held steady at 88%, while rental and related income increased 5% YoY — more than offsetting the reduction in management fees following the GCP sale and providing a stabilizing anchor for overall revenue. That said, GLP still recorded a USD 500 million fair-value impairment on its investment properties (though more than 50% smaller than the prior year). The impairment was concentrated on China assets, reflecting that valuation pressure in the region has not been fully eliminated. GLP’s asset values therefore continue to face downside risk.

Looking ahead, data centres represent GLP’s clearest and clearest growth engine. As of end-2025, the company had contracted IT capacity of approximately 1.4 GW in China, of which more than 400 MW is already operational. The remaining contracted capacity will be completed in stages and convert into future revenue. Complementing this is a 1.3 GW renewable energy platform (solar, wind and storage), which aligns well with data centres’ need for stable, low-carbon power and enhances long-term competitiveness. The core logistics business remained resilient, with 36 million square meters of new leases signed during the year (+6% YoY) and occupancy maintained at 88%.

Deleveraging Delivering Results, but Still Reliant on Asset Sales

As of 31 December 2025, GLP’s total debt had declined 7.3% to USD 12.1 billion and net gearing had improved to 55% (see Table 1). The deleveraging path is clearly visible. However, consistent with our earlier observations, while GLP’s operating and investing activities generated USD 2.0 billion in cash flow, a significant portion of this came from asset monetisation. Core EBITDA / finance costs stood at only 1.1x. In other words, cash generated from core operations is barely sufficient to cover interest expenses. Consequently, the momentum behind deleveraging has come mainly from asset sales rather than recurring operating cash flow.

Table 1: GLP Financial Metrics

(million USD)

2024

2025

YoY Change

Total Debt

13,003

12,056

-7.30%

Cash and Cash Equivalents

1,944

1,755

-9.70%

Net Debt

11,059

10,301

-6.90%

Assets Held for Sale

2,991

1,304

-56.40%

Net Gearing Ratio

59%

55%

—

Core EBITDA / Finance Costs

1.13

1.1

—

Source: Company's Report, iFast Compilations
Data as of 31 December 2025


On the liquidity front, the second USD 500 million tranche of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)’s previously committed investment (up to USD 1.5 billion in total) is expected to be received before Q3 2026. Management also plans to sell approximately USD 2 billion of assets during 2026, including several non-China data centres worth around USD 1 billion. These disposals are intended to inject additional liquidity into GLP.

However, GLP still faces USD 4.78 billion of debt maturities in 2026 (including USD 756 million of 2026 bonds that have already been repurchased and repaid this year). The weighted average maturity of the debt portfolio is only 2.8 years, indicating a relatively front-loaded maturity profile. Even if asset-sale proceeds arrive as planned, the company will likely need to continue relying on further asset disposals to bolster debt-servicing capacity. Because the ability to execute asset sales depends on prevailing market conditions, GLP’s debt-servicing capability retains a cyclical element.

Bond Investment

In late March we advised bondholders not to panic-sell on the regulatory rumours and to maintain their positions while awaiting further clarity. Subsequent events validated that view: the rumours did not escalate into concrete action and bond prices stabilized and recovered. After this recovery phase, current price levels largely reflect GLP’s underlying credit fundamentals. Investors’ positioning should now be differentiated according to bond type, considering maturity profile, seniority, and covenant protection (see Table 2).

Table 2: GLP Bonds

Bond Name

Tenor

Investor Buy Price

Yield

GLPSP 9.750% 20May2028 Corp (USD)

1.9

86.8

18.45% (Yield to Maturity)

GLPSP 7.865% Perpetual Corp (USD)

perps

58.8

13.38%(Current Yield)

GLPSP 4.600% Perpetual Corp (USD)

perps

53.6

8.58%(Current Yield)

Source: Bondsupermart, iFast Compilations
Data as of 13 July 2026


The fixed-maturity “GLPSP 9.750% 20May2028 Corp (USD)” has recovered to around 85–86 but still offers a very attractive net yield to maturity of 19.56%. Its key advantages are a clear maturity date (providing potential capital appreciation toward par, assuming timely repayment) and relatively senior priority in the capital structure.

For the two perpetual bonds, after coupon reset the net current yields are 13.62% on “GLPSP 7.865% Perpetual Corp (USD)” and 8.40% on “GLPSP 4.600% Perpetual Corp (USD)”. Both instruments, however, have no maturity date and no contractual mechanism to pull to par. Any price appreciation will depend on the probability of eventual redemption and further improvement in GLP’s fundamentals. Investors should also note that both perpetuals contain optional interest deferral clauses.

For investors intending to hold to maturity, the 2028 senior bond is clearly the more attractive choice: it offers a defined maturity, meaningful upside potential to par, and the protection of seniority and covenants. Perpetual bonds, lacking a maturity date, are more sensitive to IPO progress and redemption expectations and therefore exhibit higher price volatility. They may nevertheless appeal to investors who are constructive on the IPO completing and wish to capture potential price upside from any re-rating.

We are of the view that the 2028 senior notes would be more appropriate for investors who hold a constructive view on GLP’s fundamentals. The key advantages include a clearly defined maturity date, upside potential from bond price convergence towards par, as well as the protection afforded by its senior ranking and covenant package. That said, the near-20% yield level precisely reflects the market’s concerns over liquidity pressures and the reliance on asset monetization to service interest obligations. The elevated yield is therefore compensation for these risks rather than a source of stable, reliable returns. Accordingly, this bond is suitable for investors with a higher risk tolerance, whereas more conservative investors would be better advised to await clearer IPO signals before considering any investment.

Declaration: For specific disclosure, at the time of publication of this report, IFPL (via its connected and associated entities) holds NIL positions. The analyst who produced this report hold NIL positions in the abovementioned securities. This research report was prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. iFAST Financial Pte Ltd does not rely exclusively on AI for content generation; the content of this report – including all investment theses, ratings, price targets and conclusions – has been independently reviewed and verified by the research analyst(s) to ensure accuracy and professional integrity.

RISK DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS FOR BONDS

Key risks of investing in bond 

  • Credit risk - bonds are subject to the risk of the issuer defaulting on its obligations. It should also be noted that credit ratings assigned by credit rating agencies do not guarantee the creditworthiness of the issuer; and
  • Liquidity risk - some bonds may not have active secondary markets and it would be difficult or impossible for investors to sell the bond before its maturity; and
  • Interest rate risk - bonds are more susceptible to fluctuations in interest rates and generally prices of bonds will fall when interest rates rise; and
  • Exchange rate risk - If the bond is denominated in a foreign currency, you face an exchange rate risk. Any fall in the foreign currency will reduce the amount you receive when you convert a payment of interest or principal back into your local currency; and
  • Event risk - A corporate event such as a merger or takeover may lower the credit rating of the bond issuer. In case the corporate restructurings are financed by the issuance of a large amount of new debt-burden, the company's ability to pay off existing bonds will be weakened.

Key risks of investing in high-yield bonds 

  • Higher credit risk - since they are typically rated below investment grade or are unrated and as such are often subject to a higher risk of issuer default; and
  • Vulnerability to economic cycles - during economic downturns such bonds typically fall more in value than investment grade bonds as (i) investors become more risk averse and (ii) default risk rises.

Bonds with special features  

Some bonds may contain special features and risks that warrant special attention. These include bonds:
  • That are perpetual in nature and interest pay-out depends on the viability of the issuer in the very long term;
  • That have subordinated ranking and in case of liquidation of the issuer, investors can only get back the principal after other senior creditors are paid;
  • That are callable and investors face reinvestment risk when the issuer exercises its right to redeem the bond before it matures;
  • That have variable and/or deferral of interest payment terms and investors would face uncertainty over the amount and time of the interest payments to be received;
  • That have extendable maturity dates and investors would not have a definite schedule of principal repayment;
  • That are convertible or exchangeable in nature and investors are subject to both equity and bond investment risk; and/or
  • That have contingent write down or loss absorption feature and the bond may be written-off fully or partially or converted to common stock on the occurrence of a trigger event.

Remarks 

  • Warning for bonds that are unauthorised by SFC: The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice.
  • SFC authorization is not a recommendation or endorsement of a product nor does it guarantee the commercial merits of a product or its performance. It does not mean the product is suitable for all investors nor is it an endorsement of its suitability for any particular investor or class of investors.
  • These quotes are only indicative prices and are subject to change.


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