News
Australian dollar corporate issuance has picked up in 2023 but not to anything like the extent of the bonanza of Australian dollar credit supply from financial issuers. KangaNews’s annual survey of Australian and New Zealand corporate borrowers, however, suggests corporates are as engaged as ever with the Australian market – perhaps more so, thanks to a spike in Kiwi issuer interest.
The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority suspects the major banks’ additional tier-one funding instruments are increasing risk in the sector. The regulator has reopened the debate about the amount of this form of capital in banks’ mix and the appropriateness of AT1 for retail investors.
The KangaNews New Zealand Debt Capital Market Summit took place in Auckland in September, at a critical juncture for all of the local political, economic, market and environmental transition stories. Conversations at the conference were more wide-ranging than ever, with contributions from the political, business and markets sectors at a moment when the agenda for the coming years is being formed in real time.
When diving into the sustainable finance ecosystem, it is impossible not to come across the term ‘taxonomy’. On the surface it sounds straightforward: it is a classification tool to guide investors, issuers and policymakers on what economic activities are deemed sustainable and suitable for thematic financing. But, says the team at Natixis CIB, it is not all that simple.
Western Australia has a different set of challenges from most of its Australian state peers. While its budget position is the envy of the group, the driver of its recent revenue bonanza – the resources sector – makes for a more difficult path to the low-carbon future. The state’s treasurer, Rita Saffioti, speaks to KangaNews about debt reduction and bond issuance, sustainability goals, migration and how it hopes to help alleviate the housing crisis.
Supranational, sovereign and agency issuance in Australian dollars has had a knock-out year, with new supply surpassing an annual record that had stood for nearly a decade and a half. Supply has resumed after a particularly acute mid-year lull, but intermediaries’ attention is now turning to next year as the new-issuance ground looks less fertile in the near term.
More regulatory capital came to market this week, with a long-dated soft-bullet tier-two trade from Insurance Australia Group. In credit, meanwhile, Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust made its debut and in New Zealand, Channel Infrastructure printed a NZ$100 million retail bond. There was also the promise of more credit issuance, with Kiwi issuers Auckland Airport and Contact Energy announcing debut Australian dollar prints.
