The KangaNews Awards: Market People of the Year 2023

MARK BUTCHER
NEW ZEALAND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING AGENCY

Establishing a presence in offshore funding markets for the first time is a challenging task for any borrower. So is developing a truly innovative sustainability issuance programme. Doing so in the midst of a major regulatory review that threatened to reshape the domestic demand picture only adds to the degree of difficulty. Having navigated all three with award-winning aplomb on behalf of New Zealand Local Government Funding Agency – while maintaining the transparency and availability his is well known for – it is no surprise that Mark Butcher is recognised by his peers as one of the KangaNews Market People of the Year.

SAM DORRI
CPP INVESTMENTS

Every year welcomes a steady stream of new international issuers to the Australian dollar market, some of which establish themselves as consistent sources of local supply while others fade from the memory fairly quickly. If one wanted to draw a blueprint for how to build a consistent issuance programme, its most important components would likely be issuing through market conditions, seeking to build a liquid curve, consistent investor engagement and being constructive on price rather than seeking a funding arbitrage. CPP Investments has done all the above on its way to nearly A$8 billion of total Kangaroo issuance in barely 18 months. Sam Dorri has steered a model programme, and is recognised for his efforts by becoming one of the KangaNews Market People of the Year.

KAYLENE GULICH
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN TREASURY CORPORATION

Issuers contemplating a debut in the sustainable bond market are typically asked to build their framework and programme on solid foundations of authenticity. When the issuer has the breadth of impact and funding reach of a government entity, delivering authenticity means a serious commitment of time and resources. When the issuer’s underlying economy is based on minerals extraction, the scrutiny of claims to authenticity will be greatly enhanced. Western Australian Treasury Corporation is not Australia’s first state government green-bond issuer, but the task it faced in bringing a credible and comprehensive programme to market may have been the greatest. Kaylene Gulich is recognised for her role in martialling support across the state government and with internal and external stakeholders, taking WATC from the delivery of an information pack to investors in late 2021 to a 2023 green-bond debut.

DAVID HANNA
MACQUARIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

The Australian dollar market has grown up in recent years, from a flighty, club-style environment that many issuers felt they could not trust to provide reliable liquidity to a new plateau of scale and breadth in recent months. Throughout, the success or failure of transactions has relied – and continues to rely – on a good execution process including commitment and contribution from key investors. Macquarie Investment Management is not just one of the most significant local players, but deal arrangers credit David Hanna for providing consistent leadership to deal execution through good times and bad. One sell-side source says Hanna is “always the first person I call” if an issue arises during execution, because of his willingness to engage with suggestions, provide clear feedback and reach compromises. “Top three investors of all time – and probably top one,” the source concludes.

PAUL KELLY
TREASURY CORPORATION OF VICTORIA

Virtually every sector of the Australian debt market has been reshaped by the pandemic and the economy-wide response to it. But perhaps none has been changed more than the local semi-government market. No issuer has been more affected than Treasury Corporation of Victoria, which went from a zero new issuance task in the late 2010s to having to find more than A$40 billion in capital markets after the pandemic hit. Paul Kelly has been on the front line throughout, not just keeping ahead of the issuance run rate but overseeing a deliberate focus on supporting a vibrant secondary market – to the extent that the semi-government sector is as healthy as it has ever been as an investment and trading destination.

KATE LE QUESNE
RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

Regulators rarely receive the acclaim of market participants, especially for policy reviews that have the potential to reshape market realities in a way that challenges established funding and trading patterns. But issuers, investors and traders in New Zealand more or less universally agree that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand conducted its liquidity policy review in as responsive and responsible way as they could have asked – an outcome for which Kate Le Quesne was primarily responsible and is recognised as one of the KangaNews Market People of the Year. The banking system regulator listened to feedback, took a flexible approach and ended 2023 with a proposal designed to support market function as well as achieving system stability goals.

ALASTAIR WATSON
AUSNET SERVICES

As the Australian corporate debt market started to emerge from its pandemic-era slumber in 2023, the issuers that received the best response in the market were almost invariably described as those with a genuine, deep and longstanding commitment to investor relations. In an environment in which investors were ultra-cautious about where they were placing their funds, a track record of reliability as a business and a bond issuer was critical. No corporate name stood out more on this front than AusNet Services, under the consistent stewardship of Alastair Watson. One lead on AusNet’s 10-year deal, priced in May last year, said: “AusNet… has done a tremendous job cultivating a domestic and international investor base over more than a decade, and the transaction’s result is a testament to that work and to the issuer’s track record of delivering what it promises.”