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In the wake of its twin-hit return to the Australian dollar market, Qantas Airways (Qantas) says its commitment to the improvement of its financial profile gave confidence to investors – which in turn added to the high level of demand the transactions garnered. The Asian bid was notably stronger than in Qantas's previous trades, lead managers reveal, while domestic investor support was "meaningful" despite some rating-specific mandate constraints.
Pepper Group (Pepper) included the longest-dated foreign-currency tranche in an Australian-origin residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) deal since the financial crisis in the deal it priced on October 6. The issuer and its arranger say doing so helped attract new global investors to Pepper, while the deal structure helped overcome the sometimes punitive cost of cross-currency swaps on securitisation deals.
On October 6, Pepper Australia (Pepper) printed an upsized volume of A$800 million (US$606.8 million), from an indicative volume of A$600 million, in its latest residential mortgage-backed securities transaction.
On October 5, China Aoyuan Property Group (B/B2/B+) revealed plans to conduct a series of fixed-income investor update meetings in Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore. According to the meetings' arrangers – Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and UBS – the meetings will commence on October 7.
Suncorp-Metway (Suncorp) (A+/A1/A+) priced a new A$350 million (US$267.1 million) two-year deal on October 5. Indicative price guidance on the deal was 75-77 basis points over three-month bank bill swap rate.
On October 5, Province of Québec (Québec) priced a A$45 million (US$34.3 million) increase to its existing May 2026 Kangaroo bond. Indicative price guidance on the tap was 81 basis points over semi-quarterly swap and 74.25 basis points over Australian Commonwealth government bond (ACGB).
On October 5, Qube Holdings (Qube) completed its latest transaction, printing an upsized volume of A$305 million (US$232.6 million). The transaction is the Australian market's first corporate subordinated deal of 2016.
Market participants say the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM)'s plan to extend its bond curve out to 2046, beyond its current longest maturity point of 2040, highlights the evolving maturity of the Australian market. The extension could attract new buyers into the AOFM curve and in turn bolster the wider market's trading capabilities and international relevance.
On October 5, Think Tank Group (Think Tank) revealed it has mandated Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Deutsche Bank to engage investors in a potential Australian dollar SME commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) transaction. According to KangaNews data, Think Tank last issued in the Australian securitisation market in June 2014 when it printed A$113.6 million (US$86.4 million) in its inaugural CMBS transaction. Think Tank Series 2014-1 Trust had an eight-tranche structure with the largest, A$28.4 million A1 tranche, pricing at 150 basis points over bank bill swap rate (BBSW) for a weighted-average life (WAL) of 0.7 years.
Transurban Queensland (BBB by S&P), a 62.5 per cent owned subsidiary of Transurban, printed a new A$200 million (US$152.6 million) senior-secured transaction on October 5. Initial price guidance on the seven-year fixed-rate deal was 185-190 basis points over semi-quarterly swap, a lead-manager announcement revealed.
On October 4, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) printed A$125 million (US$95.8 million) in a new April 2027-maturity Kangaroo bond. Indicative price guidance was in the area of 50 basis points over semi-quarterly swap. According to KangaNews data, IADB most recently issued in the Kangaroo market in August this year when it printed a A$50 million tap to its June 2026 line.
On October 4, NWB Bank (AAA/Aaa) priced a A$115 million (US$88.2 million) increase to its September 2026 Kangaroo bond. According to KangaNews data, NWB Bank debuted this line in February for volume of A$50 million and pricing of 77 basis points over Australian Commonwealth government bond (ACGB). The line was most recently increased by A$30 million at 79.75 basis points over ACGB in September.