Queensland Treasury Corporation
Money talks and so does climate change
The KangaNews Sustainable Debt Summit took place in Sydney on 3 April at a time in which the sustainable finance sector is being forced to reiterate its value and purpose. Market leaders say incorporating sustainability considerations into investment decisions is a necessity, not a choice – and the politicisation of the sector does not change why markets decided to address the issue in the first place.
Team Australia hits the road to fulfil expanded issuance task
The early weeks of 2025 suggested markets are picking up where they left off at the end of the previous year: ample liquidity and generally favourable issuance conditions for good-quality borrowers despite periodic volatility prompted by a febrile geopolitical environment. Australia’s high-grade issuers enter the year with plenty of funding to do and – in the case of semi-governments – heightened scrutiny on their debt burdens. KangaNews and National Australia Bank gathered a group of female leaders from the issuer and investor spaces to discuss the market outlook.
Market growth despite clouded economic outlook
Two themes emerged strongly from conversations at the 2024 Commonwealth Bank of Australia Global Markets Conference, which took place in Sydney and Melbourne in October. One is the shifting tectonic plates of geopolitics and macroeconomic norms, which makes forecasting the outlook more challenging than ever. The other is the underlying growth and improved functionality of the Australian debt market, which is producing opportunities and attracting capital in the high-grade and credit sectors.
Bringing together the Australian and Canadian high-grade sectors
In October, in a KangaNews Women in Capital Markets Yearbook first, KangaNews and RBC Capital Markets brought together Australian semi-government and Canadian high-grade issuers, and Australian institutional investors to discuss the increasing crossover between the two borrower sectors and how they fit into global capital markets.
Demand supports growing issuance from Australian sovereign sector issuers
In July, KangaNews and Westpac Institutional Bank gathered Australia’s biggest sovereign and semi-government issuers to discuss their funding needs and strategies. Semi-government spreads have risen and funding tasks remain high, but issuers have plenty of options.
GSS issuance in time and numbers
KangaNews has been tracking the progress of Australian and New Zealand sustainability labelled debt instruments since the market began, including coverage of groundbreaking transactions and keeping extensive issuance data in the KangaNews deal database. A timeline of key developments and data points illustrates market progress over the years.
