Oceania

Strong demand from bank lenders has allowed Health and Happiness International Holdings to bump up the size of its dual-currency loan to $450m-equivalent.

Société Générale sold its first non-preferred senior deal in Australian dollars this week, as international banks make better use of the currency for their total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC) requirements.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) has tapped Simon Cox to lead its equity capital markets (ECM) business in Australia, according to a memo seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Gas asset and infrastructure investment consortium Quadgas made its debut in the sterling corporate bond market on Monday with a £350m 11 year offering. The company had previously raised funds from the US private placement market, but this was its first benchmark public deal.

The Independent State of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has taken a step towards debuting in the international bonds market, mandating banks for a long-awaited dollar issuance.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce paid up to tap a euro-denominated senior bond on Wednesday, getting ahead of regulations next month that will make all senior debt subject to bail in. Bank of Nova Scotia also took out over $1bn equivalent of funding in Australian dollars this week.

Rating: Aa3/AA-/AA-

National Australia Bank issued €2bn of new senior conventional and green notes on Wednesday with a simultaneous tender for existing short-dated debt that could inspire other banks in the euro market looking to make their maturity profiles more efficient.

National Australia Bank found demand for €2bn of new senior notes on Wednesday, at the same time as offering to buy back €750m of old debt.

Despite a deterioration in the affordability of housing in New Zealand, loan-to-value ratios are low and homes are comparatively more affordable than they are in much of Europe. Even though credit risks remain contained, it seems likely that spreads in the New Zealand covered bond market are set to be repriced wider.

Fitch has assigned an AAA rating to the debut covered bond programme of ING Bank in Australia (INGBA).

MUFG Bank has named Manoj Bhatia as head of global subsidiary banking for Asia and Oceania, effective August 1.