IFC breaks the Kauri market ice as funding conditions come back into play
International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s return to the Kauri market on 17 July was the first such transaction since early April. Deal sources say conditions have markedly improved, to the extent that pricing achieved by the issuer was more attractive than US dollar levels.
Repo-eligibility a winner for UOB Sydney deal
On 17 July, United Overseas Bank Sydney Branch (UOB Sydney) printed the domestic market’s first repo-eligible deal since Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)’s announcement on total loss-absorbing capacity on 9 July. While much focus has been on financial institution (FI) regulatory-capital transactions in recent weeks, senior-unsecured pricing has tightened to record lows.
Foot off the gas
The long-term trend is still in the right direction, but investors and intermediaries in Asia say regional interest in Australia has taken a step back in the past 12 months. There are still many reasons for Australian market participants to maintain and grow their Asian engagement, however.
KfW prints Kangaroo green bond under new framework
KfW Bankengruppe (KfW) returned to the Australian green-bond market on 17 July with a A$450 million (US$317.7 million) five-year green bond, four years after its inaugural green Kangaroo. Lars Ainsley, senior manager, new issues and capital markets at KfW in Frankfurt shares the agency’s perspective on green-bond market development with KangaNews.
Read more: KfW prints Kangaroo green bond under new framework
Playing tetris
New capital requirements proposed for banks by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) are likely to have consequences well beyond the banking sector. Economics in the lending market could be set for change, which may in turn reshape the dynamics of corporate bond issuance in New Zealand.