The third Fixed Income Beyond the Institutional Sector Summit, hosted by KangaNews and National Australia Bank (NAB), took place in Sydney on 2 August. This unique conference attracted another record number of delegates in 2018, as NAB continues to champion the importance of fixed income to the noninstitutional investor base.

Pricing became challenging for Australian issuers in the Asian-targeted US dollar Reg S market later in the first half of 2018, after a flurry of corporate transactions over the preceding 12 months. But market participants in Asia insist the regional liquidity pool will increasingly challenge old favourites like US private placements (USPPs) and domestic issuance for Australian-origin flow.

One of the highest-profile international guests at the KangaNews DCM Summit was Pierre van Peteghem, treasurer at Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila. In conversation with Richard Mazzochi, partner at King & Wood Mallesons in Hong Kong, van Peteghem shared insights into ADB’s wider role in sustainable development and how growth in the Asia-Pacific region is changing the supranational’s mandate.

KangaNews is proud to present the winners of the institutional and deal categories in the KangaNews Awards 2017. After an extensive voting and verification process, KangaNews can confidently say its results reflect a true market view on the outstanding performers of 2017 in the Australian and New Zealand debt markets.

The KangaNews-Westpac Corporate Debt Summit returned to Sydney on 13 September, against arguably the most positive backdrop for Australian corporate bond issuance in at least half a decade. Now in its seventh annual iteration, the conference drew a record crowd for the fourth consecutive year.

On 20 July, KangaNews and National Australia Bank hosted their second annual Fixed Income Beyond the Institutional Sector Summit in Sydney. With more than 500 delegates in attendance the event went to a new level in 2017, as speakers shared views on how noninstitutional investors will engage with the fixed-income asset class in a rapidly changing world.

Scott Farrell, partner at King & Wood Mallesons, shares his views on ‘smart contracts’ in capital markets.