Scentre Group
Credit liquidity and primary market signals
In late August, ANZ and KangaNews hosted their third annual bond trading roundtable – this year adding the perspectives of a range of spread product issuers. In a challenging year for credit pricing and liquidity, market users discussed trading conditions, emerging confidence and what secondary activity says about new-issuance prospects.
A decade of development
The KangaNews-Westpac Corporate Debt Summit debuted in 2011, with a relatively small audience and a market that could not yet take consistent supply of corporate bonds for granted. In the decade since, the event and the market have grown and diversified. By 2019 – the last year before COVID-19 put the in-person event on hiatus – registrations had more than trebled, to nearly 600, and the event’s agenda covered not just corporate debt but a raft of issues relevant to the economic and business environment.
Scentre’s capital deal supports long-term outlook
Scentre Group says its blockbuster subordinated-debt deal in the US dollar 144A market is part of an ongoing capital-management programme in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, supporting its long-term credit rating and providing significant financial flexibility. The transaction was met by substantial international demand, deal sources add.
Corporates find more crisis funding options
The economy-wide impact of COVID-19 has affected Australian corporate borrowers in a host of ways. But access to funds has generally remained in place as issuers navigate a path back to some type of normality – even for those in the most affected sectors.
Shoppers and investors returning for Scentre
The cautious but early emergence of Australia and New Zealand from the COVID-19 crisis enabled Scentre Group to convey a positive forecast to debt investors in its recent US dollar deal. The result, deal sources say, was an endorsement for the company and for the prospects of antipodean economic recovery.
Corporate issuers in a global credit bull market
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.
