News

Following its first Australian dollar deal in seven years, Adelaide Airport says re-engaging with the local investor base was a top priority as it embarks on a new capex plan and plans for upcoming maturities. While issuance has slowed since a hectic end to Q1, the deal book demonstrates ongoing robust demand for Australian dollar corporate credit.

Allied Credit’s latest asset-backed securities transaction more than doubles the size of its largest previous deal. The issuer says the deal is effectively the first of a new programme given it now carries two credit ratings and is European Securities and Markets Authority reporting compliant, factors that helped provide comfort to some offshore accounts that had previously not been able to participate.

Prospa’s ability to lengthen the lifespan of its loan originations allowed the issuer to adopt a more traditional closed-pool deal structure in its return to the securitisation market. Offering shorter weighted average life securities was positively received by domestic investors, the issuer reveals – but it adds that there is more work to be done to educate offshore accounts about Australian SME credit.

Deal sources say Nestlé’s jumbo debut Kangaroo transaction is a further show of confidence for the Australian dollar market. They hope it could spur other international corporate names to consider Australian dollar funding after a three-year drought since the last Kangaroo corporate issuance of similar size.

The Asian bid has been a major talking point in the Australian credit market in early 2024 and, while technical factors have provided a strong tailwind, market participants believe the outlook is positive for the medium term at least. Finding ongoing sources of bank and corporate supply may be a bigger concern.

The emergence of private credit as an asset class in Australia began in the ultra-low rates environment ahead of and during the pandemic, but has only grown as overall interest in fixed income has grown in more recent times. The domestic market is still maturing and the focus of global interest is typically the US, but there are also private credit opportunities in Europe.

South Australian Government Financing Authority has been working on plans to map its whole debt book – and thus pave the way for a fully sustainability-labelled issuance programme – for a matter of years. In the wake of its debut labelled transaction, Peter King, head of financial markets and client services at the state issuer, talks to KangaNews about the reception and the importance of a programme that is unique in Australia.

HSBC Holdings’ tier-two Kangaroo – priced on 14 March – is the bank’s first subordinated transaction issued in Australian dollars and its first Kangaroo in any format since 2010. With book volume once again impressing – this time for a less-trafficked asset class – deal participants say the trade reflects ongoing strength in the Australian market, including for higher-yielding instruments.

KangaNews has announced its Market People of the Year 2023, at the KangaNews Awards Gala Dinner in Sydney on 19 March. These are the individuals who voters in the KangaNews Awards 2023 believe went above and beyond to contribute to the development of the Australian and New Zealand debt markets. There are no restrictions on the firms, role or seniority of winners – voters were simply asked to consider who contributed most to the market in either or both 2023 specifically or across the span of a career.

The first few months of 2024 demonstrated there is ample appetite for high-quality corporate credit across global markets – including in Australian dollars, where new issuance has reached a record level. Market sources say US private placement investors are as keen as ever to access Australian-origin issuers. The question is whether those issuers will be willing to look beyond the domestic value proposition.

There is more to Australian energy transition than delivering a big volume of renewables generation capacity. Industry leaders suggest the faster than anticipated exit of coal is changing the focus of those responsible for delivering the transition, to areas that require particular technological or investment attention.

MTF opened the New Zealand dollar securitisation market for 2024 in what the issuer describes as a positive environment for structured finance issuance. A year since its last term deal, the borrower says loan origination determined the timing of market return but also suggests issuing first is a good way to ensure maximum support in New Zealand.