There have been two key tenets for Australian issuers seeking liquidity from investors in Asia: patience and presence. The oft-repeated mantra has been that investors in the region may require several in-person meetings over multiple years before finally engaging in a deal. Once they do, though, they tend to be loyal and consistent buyers.

Australian companies undertaking extensive deal and nondeal roadshows in Asia and further afield may be off the table for the foreseeable future. But the buy and sell side have embraced virtual methods of engagement.

With ample liquidity in the Australian dollar market, for some issuers the need to continue intensive investor relations may have declined.

Similarly, for investors with less interest in the currency the impetus may not be there to focus on Australian dollar issuers. Carman Lau, director, head of fixed income at HSBC Private Bank, says interaction is often a casualty of lower issuance.

Will Gillespie, director, frequent issuer coverage and syndicate, Asia at National Australia Bank, says those corporate issuers that are keen to maintain or grow their regional investor base have typically been very deliberate in their regional engagement. This has resulted in high attendance rates for investor update and pre-deal calls.

For Australian issuers, engaging with investors in the region early may be key to ensuring participation given the deal execution window is now typically compressed to minimise risk. In the past, it could be expected that intraday deal execution would preclude some investors in Asia.

Daniel Leong, director, debt syndication at Mizuho Securities, says the world has moved on from preferring physical meetings. “In-person roadshows are a powerful tool for engagement and once it is possible again they should return to a degree. But virtual meetings do work and it seems likely that these will be incorporated into many issuers’ standard investor relations.”

Investors familiar with Australian borrowers are less likely to need ongoing physical meetings and should be comfortable conducting most meetings with potential issuers virtually. Owen Gallimore, head of credit strategy at ANZ, points out, however, that it is more difficult to engage new investors without the face-to-face contact.

“Asia remains a developing economic region with new pockets of investable funds emerging. There is always new money for issuers to meet,” Gallimore explains.