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The state government of Victoria has maintained its commitment to vital infrastructure investment despite softening economic conditions, thanks in part to many years of sound budget management. Tim Pallas, the state’s Melbourne-based treasurer, tells KangaNews how the government will juggle its revenue and spending projections.
KangaNews speaks to Jackie Trad, the state of Queensland’s Brisbane-based treasurer, and Philip Noble, chief executive at Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) in Brisbane, about the state’s ambitious infrastructure plan, state finances and goals on the funding side of the balance sheet. The state government is committing to substantial infrastructure investment and will be more active in capital markets as a result of this programme.
Isabel Fernandez, head of wholesale banking at ING Bank (ING) in Amsterdam, spoke exclusively with KangaNews when she visited Australia in May. She shares her aspirations for the bank’s wholesale franchise in Australia, including the emerging role of sustainability-performance-linked loans (SPLs).
New South Wales Treasury Corporation (TCorp) has a 2019/20 funding programme twice the size of the year prior and is changing its issuance and investor-relations strategy as a result. A government commitment to investment in infrastructure is a central driver of the funding need.
Housing New Zealand (Housing NZ) has issued more than half its borrowing protocol limit as well as the largest green, social and sustainability (GSS)-themed bond in New Zealand, despite re-entering the market barely a year ago. Sam Direen, Wellington-based treasurer at Housing NZ, says the issuer’s journey is only just beginning.
BNP Paribas and KangaNews convened their longstanding roundtable for corporate issuers in Sydney in July. Participants share a detailed view of a global market in which liquidity continues to outstrip credit supply by a significant margin – and where issuers hold the whip hand as a consequence. There are still challenges for responsible issuers, however.
European Investment Bank (EIB) is one of the longest-standing and most active supranational, sovereign and agency (SSA) issuers in the Kangaroo and Kauri markets. Global issuers in Australian and New Zealand dollars have been facing some challenges in 2019. But with the support of a growing sustainability programme, EIB’s funding team says it believes Australasian markets will continue to play an important role in the supranational’s bond-issuance mix now and into the future.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) is once again the dominant player in the 2019 KangaNews Fixed-Income Research Poll, winning six categories including the overall title. The outcome is even more impressive considering the bank’s team has gone through change at the top in the past year.
Bank of Montreal (BMO) has returned to the Australian dollar market for the first time since Canada’s total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC) regime came into effect. Deal sources say the success of the transaction reaffirms domestic support for Canadian bail-in deals.
In June, ANZ and KangaNews gathered issuers and investors from across the global market at their annual roundtable discussion in London. This year’s conversation came at a pivotal moment for market direction and in the middle of an existential debate about the nature and purpose of sustainable finance.
On 17 July, United Overseas Bank Sydney Branch (UOB Sydney) (AA-/Aa1/AA-) launched a three-year, senior-unsecured, benchmark domestic floating-rate note (FRN) deal with indicative price guidance of 55 basis points area over three-month bank bills. Pricing is expected on the day of launch according to lead managers HSBC, National Australia Bank, UOB and Westpac Institutional Bank.
On 16 July, KfW Bankengruppe (KfW) (AAA/Aaa) launched a new, five-year Kangaroo green bond, with indicative price guidance of 36 basis points area over semi-quarterly swap and 48.1 basis points area over Australian Commonwealth government bond. Pricing is expected in the near future according to lead managers Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets and TD Securities.