News
New Zealand’s green-bond market is still in its infancy, even though green issuance is potentially a natural fit for some of the biggest sectors of the economy. BNZ gathered market participants at a green bond seminar in Auckland in late April to discuss the challenges and how they can be addressed.
On 1 May, following the release of the Victorian state budget, Treasury Corporation of Victoria revealed a funding requirement for the financial year ending 30 June 2019 of A$2.1 billion (US$1.6 billion). The requirement is lower than previously forecast, treasury forecasts from the May 2017 budget having indicated an expected funding need of A$4.6 billion for 2018/19.
Liberty Financial (Liberty) says its first residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction for 2018 attracted a raft of new investors, contributing to the deal achieving total volume of more than double the launch target. The issuer attributes this result to its extensive investor-relations work.
Ausgrid Finance (Ausgrid) added to its landmark US private placement (USPP) and Australian domestic deals from 2017 in April, with a €650 million (US$793.6 million) and a dual-tranche US$1 billion 144A/Reg S transaction. Michael Bradburn, chief financial officer at Ausgrid in Sydney, shares exclusive insights on pricing objectives, market selection and sentiment with KangaNews.
Deal sources on Brisbane Airport Corporation (Brisbane Airport)’s recent domestic transaction – the issuer’s first in Australian dollars since October 2013 – say the transaction’s strong orderbook and tight pricing is proof of the Australian market’s continued competitiveness.
Recent deal outcomes for Transurban Queensland and Sydney Airport demonstrate the ongoing willingness of a range of international markets to provide liquidity to Australian corporate borrowers, deal sources say. While pricing outcomes vary, specific issuers’ funding strategies and the ongoing desire for investor diversification are at least as important drivers of market selection.
The group of leading market economists gathered at the KangaNews DCM Summit discussed what appears to be an increasing range of risk possibilities for global economies. US protectionism, trade wars, and the future direction of rates and bond yields were on the agenda.
With a significant market share in the Australian individual life-insurance market after recent acquisitions, Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is going on a roadshow to Australian and Asian investors towards the end of April. Mathias Meisel, head of capital markets in Zurich, talks to KangaNews about the issuer’s Australian business and its funding plans.
The majority of the heavy lifting spun out of the radical reshaping of the banking sector following the financial crisis may have played out, but conditions continue to shift. The KangaNews Debt Capital Markets Summit brought a pair of international bank funders together to share insights into the global landscape.
Sustainability in the debt market is already too big a subject to ignore. To close the first-ever full-day KangaNews Sustainable Debt Summit, which took place in Sydney in March, a panel of market specialists discussed the purpose and prospects of their sector.
Many market participants believe quantitative tapering (QT) in Europe is edging closer. The KangaNews Debt Capital Markets Summit gathered a panel of experts to discuss impacts for global markets – though the consensus is that the pace of the reversal is likely to be slow and steady.
Caltex Australia (Caltex) says its business has undergone a substantial transition and the Australian corporate bond market has developed significantly since its previous debt-market foray, in 2012. The successful execution of Caltex’s capital market return is testament to both, the issuer and its lead managers claim.