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On 28 February, Caltex Australia (Caltex) (BBB+/S&P) disclosed plans to meet debt investors in Australia and Asia regarding a possible Australian dollar denominated transaction. The meetings, to be arranged by ANZ and National Australia Bank, will commence on 12 March.
On 27 February, Firstmac began taking indications of interest for its residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction, Firstmac Mortgage Funding Trust No. 4 Series 1-2018 (Firstmac 1-2018). The transaction has four publicly offered tranches, including the US dollar denominated Class A1-U notes for indicative US$150 million. The total indicative volume for the four offered tranches is equivalent to A$474.2 million (US$372.1 million).
Australia’s proximity to and ever-increasing ties with investors in Asia is spinning off plenty of impacts in the debt markets, one of which is heightened issuer engagement with the US dollar Reg S market. Reg S has the potential to become a true pan-Asian benchmark funding option, market users say.
A reduced aggregate funding target for calendar 2018 should change the issuance menu for Australia’s big-four banks, heads of funding tell KangaNews. Meanwhile, the majors say their funding tasks are well set despite the re-emergence of market volatility in February.
On 27 February, Western Australian Treasury Corporation (WATC) (AA+/Aa2) launched a capped A$1 billion (US$785.2 million), five-year, syndicated floating-rate note (FRN). The forthcoming transaction is being marketed at 22.5-24.5 basis points area over three-month bank bills. Pricing is expected within a day of launch according to lead managers ANZ, National Australia Bank and Westpac Institutional Bank.
Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds) (BBB+/A3/A+) launched a seven-year, benchmark Kangaroo transaction on 27 February. The forthcoming deal will emerge in either or both of fixed- or floating-rate format, and has indicative price guidance of 140-145 basis points area over swap benchmarks. Pricing is expected on the day after launch, according to lead managers ANZ, J.P. Morgan, National Australia Bank and TD Securities.
Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) opened a new route to sustainable funding when it printed a A$117.3 million (US$92 million) Uridashi deal earlier in February. The deal hints at growth in demand for sustainable and socially responsible products from Japanese retail investors and consequent opportunities for Australian issuers.
We live in a global world. With circa 46 per cent of S&P 500 sales and 70 per cent-plus of the revenues in FTSE 100 members coming from overseas, the social and financial footprint of a company is no longer limited to its country of origin.
As we approach the KangaNews Awards Gala Dinner and its much-anticipated revelation of the individual winners in the KangaNews Awards 2017, I thought it might be worthwhile to shed some light on the process behind the decisions. It is a time-consuming and laborious process, but one that we at KangaNews hope is viewed positively by our market.