News
On 24 June, Auckland Council (AA/Aa2) revealed plans for a new, six-year green-bond transaction to New Zealand retail and institutional investors. Investor presentations will be held in Auckland and Wellington on 1 July, with full details of the offer expected to be revealed in early July. ANZ and BNZ are joint lead managers.
The third full week of June brought solid deal flow in markets on both sides of the Tasman Sea. In Australia, Barclays printed A$800 million (US$554.3 million) across five- and 10-year tranches and Vicinity Centres priced a A$400 million six-year fixed- and floating-rate deal. In New Zealand, Mercury priced a NZ$300 million (US$197.9 million) subordinated-capital transaction.
Westpac New Zealand (Westpac NZ) became the first New Zealand-based financial institution to issue a green bond on 18 June, with a €500 million (US$563.3 million) deal. The issuer says it wants to be a leader in the space and demonstrate the viability of the funding source to the local market.
Vicinity Centres (Vicinity) defied recent headlines around forecasts for the retail sector in its recent transaction, attracting significant demand from investors in Australia and Asia. Lead managers suggest that the issuer’s proactive engagement with investors and flexibility in meeting investor demand was key to the deal’s success.
On 19 June, following the release of the South Australia state budget on the previous day, South Australian Government Financing Authority (SAFA) revealed a term-funding requirement for the 2019/20 financial year of A$3.2 billion (US$2.2 billion). The issuer’s requirement is expected to decrease in the 2021 and 2022 financial years before increasing at the end of the out years.
