Australian dollar

Two supranationals hopped into the Kangaroo market with environmental, social governance (ESG) bond taps this week, in a move that is becoming increasingly popular. With a local holiday this weekend marking the end of antipodean summer, bankers expect Australian dollar issuance to restart in the next few weeks.

The first Kangaroo deals of 2020 from SSAs started trickling through this week, after ANZ blew the doors off the Australian dollar market with a A$3.5bn ($2.4bn) self-led domestic deal on Tuesday.

For public sector issuers, niche currency deals have offered attractive opportunities for arbitrage funding, with spreads into euros and dollars spurring on demand this year. Meanwhile, strong investor appetite for green paper has seen niche shoots blossom throughout 2019. Frank Jackman reports

In its first visit to the capital markets, VisionFund International, a subsidiary of World Vision, the Christian mission focussed children’s charity and non-profit organisation, accessed a competitive method of funding that will help it “to penetrate deeper into rural areas” and benefit those in greatest need.

Ford Motor Credit Company mandated banks on Tuesday to lead a new Australian dollar deal, its first since 2016.

Verizon Communications, the US telecoms group, returned for the second time to the Kangaroo market on Wednesday to extend its curve out to 20 years in what one lead manager described as a first for the market.

Verizon Communications, the US telecoms group, is preparing to return to the Kangaroo bond market with a multi-tranche deal, offering maturities up to 20 years — far longer than its longest outstanding 10 year tranche.

Japanese Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), the holding company for SMBC, returned to Australian dollars on Wednesday after two years away from the currency.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) turned to the Taiwanese market to raise Australian dollars, after finding a receptive audience for the currency.

SSA issuers turned towards niche currencies this week to meet a range of demand across the Australian and Canadian dollar curves. KfW and the Asian Development Bank started the week printing in Australian dollars, before the World Bank joined them in the currency while also returning to the Maple market.

The Asian Development Bank hopped on to screens on Tuesday to print a new 10.5 year green Kangaroo bond. Demand for longer dated Kangaroo bonds has been muted recently, leading to smaller transaction sizes. So introducing a green label helped the ADB feel “comfortable” with achieving its minimum issuance size, said Anthony Ruschpler, treasury specialist at the ADB in Manila.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) hit screens on Monday morning with initial price thoughts for a new 10 year green Kangaroo bond. The trade follows a busy week for SSA Kangaroo issuance at the long end of the curve, driven by Japanese demand according to one banker.