Sydney Airport’s largest-ever transaction in the Australian dollar market – which is also its first public domestic deal since 2011 – provides another sign of growing corporate borrower confidence in the local funding option. The chance to access extended tenor at volume in line with a global core market benchmark print clearly moved the dial for an issuer that has historically been wary of the reliability of domestic issuance.

KangaNews is proud to announce the winners of the institutional and deal categories in the KangaNews Awards 2023. At the end of another busy year in the Australian and New Zealand capital markets, KangaNews received votes from hundreds of market participants keen to recognise the achievements of 2023's most outstanding performers.

Tight new-issue concessions, ample liquidity, the availability of tenor and favourable cross-currency economics are among the drivers sending a host of Australian corporate names on a funding expedition to Europe in recent weeks, deal sources say. Three such deals priced and another two circling since mid-April have been the subject of comment in the European market and demonstrate the clear advantage euro issuance offers in the H1 corporate funding window.

Increased engagement with sustainability is leading to growing awareness of greenwashing risk – the potential for environmental credentials to be overstated or misrepresented. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is prioritising greenwashing surveillance and enforcement, supported for the first time by a more coherent policy backdrop.

Corporate borrowers have leaned on bank loans in 2022, as volatility and rising cost of funds in fixed income markets have made public bond issuance less attractive. The situation will not last indefinitely, however – indeed, corporate issuers may be forced back into funding markets in H2.

Transition to a more sustainable economy is increasingly driving investment and business decisions. While climate has been a key focus, market participants are now moving to add natural capital to their calculations and pressing ahead with more socially focused projects, according to speakers at the KangaNews Sustainable Debt Summit, which took place in Sydney in late May.