News
On August 29 Corporación Andina de Fomento (AA-/Aa3/AA-) added A$75 million (US$67 million) to the existing A$275 million three-year Kangaroo issue originally launched last week. The issuer says the increase was driven by reverse enquiry.
Following a record issuance year in 2012, HSBC Sydney Branch (HSBC Sydney) (AA-/Aa2) launched and priced its first Australian domestic transaction of 2013 on August 27. The new deal is a three-year floating-rate note (FRN) with volume of A$750 million (US$672.5 million)
ConnectEast Finance (ConnectEast) says strong demand from domestic investor accounts and steady flow from triple-B rated issuers provided the necessary backdrop to the launch of its debut transaction. The deal, which priced on August 23, is the ninth domestic deal by a triple-B corporate issuer this year, a trend driven by improved investor sentiment and search for yield.
ING Bank Australia (ING Australia) priced its second Idol Trust Series prime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issue of 2013 on August 26, having upsized the deal to A$1 billion (US$901.3 million) from an indicative A$500 million.
World Bank launched two Australasian deals – a Kangaroo and a Kauri – in successive days this week. Although the issuer says this time frame was almost purely coincidental and there was only limited investor crossover, World Bank also suggests that, market conditions permitting, it would adopt a similar strategy again.
The third full week of August saw a pickup in deal flow on both sides of the Tasman Sea. Improved investor demand saw a number of debut Kangaroo deals - Corporación Andina de Fomento priced the first ever Kangaroo bond by a Latin American issuer and Transpower was the first New Zealand corporate to issue a Kangaroo in over a decade.
On August 23, ConnectEast Finance (ConnectEast) (Baa2) priced a new A$250 million (US$178.73 million) seven-year domestic issue. The deal is an inaugural transaction for the owner and operator of the EastLink tollway.
Transpower New Zealand (Transpower) says strong demand from Australian and Asian investors for high-rated Australian dollar credit supported its debut Kangaroo transaction. The deal, which priced on August 21, was the first Kangaroo from a New Zealand corporate for over a decade. Its leads say its success is likely to attract more New Zealand issuers to the Australian market.
Latin America's first ever Kangaroo issuance opens the door for fellow issuers although intermediaries are doubtful that a flurry of similar deals will follow. Following its debut deal on August 21, Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) says this is the first step to becoming a frequent issuer in the Kangaroo market after it established an A$2 billion Australian MTN programme last month.
On August 23, Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) (AAA/Aaa) priced a new February 2024 Kangaroo bond. So far this year NIB has issued three Kangaroo deals - two increases to its April 2022 bond, for A$100 million (US$89.9 million) each, and one new line, a A$400 million February 2018 bond.
On August 23, International Finance Corporation (IFC) (AAA/Aaa) priced an increase to its February 2018 Kauri issue. The transaction is the first tap to the line which was introduced in February this year with a volume of NZ$650 million (US$508.30 million) and pricing of 64.1 basis points over New Zealand government bond.