News

Nearly five years after reaching their highest pre-financial crisis levels, Australian superannuation fund returns have recovered to their peak according to SuperRatings data. While improving equity markets have been the most notable driver of performance over the past 12 months, diversified fixed interest continues to be the best-returning of SuperRatings' sectoral indices over three-, five- and seven-year periods.

Following its return to the Australian market with the country's largest-ever non-credit wrapped corporate bond deal, BHP Billiton says it expects to issue more AUD-denominated paper in future. The issuer also reveals that the size of its new deal – A$1 billion (US$1.03 billion) – significantly exceeded the volume threshold it targeted as a minimum for its return to the domestic market.

BHP Billiton Finance, a funding entity guaranteed by BHP Billiton, launched and priced the largest-ever non-credit wrapped corporate bond deal in the Australian market on October 9. The firm placed A$1 billion (US$1.02 billion) of new five-year notes in a deal market participants say was oversubscribed by nearly double.

At the end of the third quarter of 2012, intermediary league tables for total public syndicated bond issuance in both Australia and New Zealand had ANZ in first position. The bank even manages to hold both top spots when self-led transactions are excluded from league table calculations, and it also narrowly pips National Australia Bank (NAB) to top the excluding self-led securitisation league table.

National Australia Bank (NAB) (AA-/Aa2/AA-) has prefunded US$1.5 billion for financial year 2013 by printing a dual-tranche covered issue on September 20, on the back of "solid" reverse enquiry.

Liberty Financial's Liberty Series 2012-1 Auto has priced its second asset-backed security (ABS) deal of 2012 following a residential mortgage-backed (RMBS) transaction in July. A Moody's Investors Service report released on September 21 said the deal is a securitisation of "of auto loans extended to prime and non-conforming consumer obligors located in Australia".

Lead managers on the debut Kangaroo transaction issued by Metropolitan Life Global Funding (MetLife Funding) say the deal attracted strong demand from Australian real-money investors attracted by the credit-enhanced structure of a funding agreement (FA)-backed issue. However, they are hesitant to predict that the deal will trigger a full-scale revival of the Kangaroo market for US financial institutions (FIs).

Stadshypotec has priced its debut covered bond into the Kangaroo market in the form of a five-year benchmark. The deal will be the first Kangaroo covered bond since Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce last issued, in July 2011, and the second ever Nordic Kangaroo covered bond following DNB Nor Boligkreditt's debut in June last year.

In its debut issue in the Kangaroo market, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) (AA-/Aa3/AA-) priced a new A$500 million (US$523.4 million) five-year transaction on September 19. According to KangaNews data, the deal, launched on September 18, is the first non-bank financial institution (FI) Kangaroo since Swiss Re placed a hybrid issue in April 2007.

QIC Shopping Centre Fund (A-) has priced a new five-year fixed rate transaction on September 19 for A$200 million (US$208.6 million), at 185 basis points over swap - five points tighter than indicated at the launch. The deal, QIC Shopping Centre Fund's first public issue since pricing A$200 million in fixed rate notes in April 2011, is expected to price by September 20 2012.

Korea Gas Corporation (KoGas) (A+/A1/A+) has priced a A$300 million (US$313.1 million) three-year bond at 155 basis points over the semi-quarterly swap rate - 10 basis points tighter than indicated at the launch. The transaction, which priced on September 20 2012, is the second corporate Kangaroo to issue since 2006 following a five-year deal by BP Capital on August 29 for A$500 million (US$521.9 million).

Ahead of the September 27 publication of Australia's financial accounts for the second quarter of 2012, some analysts believe there has been a broadening of demand for Australian assets among offshore buyers in favour of semi-government bonds. However, if a trend is emerging it remains in its very early days and most strategists say they are maintaining a watching brief rather than drawing conclusions.