News

QIC Shopping Centre Fund (A-) has priced a new five-year fixed rate transaction on September 19 for A$200 million (US$208.6 million), at 185 basis points over swap - five points tighter than indicated at the launch. The deal, QIC Shopping Centre Fund's first public issue since pricing A$200 million in fixed rate notes in April 2011, is expected to price by September 20 2012.

Korea Gas Corporation (KoGas) (A+/A1/A+) has priced a A$300 million (US$313.1 million) three-year bond at 155 basis points over the semi-quarterly swap rate - 10 basis points tighter than indicated at the launch. The transaction, which priced on September 20 2012, is the second corporate Kangaroo to issue since 2006 following a five-year deal by BP Capital on August 29 for A$500 million (US$521.9 million).

Ahead of the September 27 publication of Australia's financial accounts for the second quarter of 2012, some analysts believe there has been a broadening of demand for Australian assets among offshore buyers in favour of semi-government bonds. However, if a trend is emerging it remains in its very early days and most strategists say they are maintaining a watching brief rather than drawing conclusions.

Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)(AAA/Aaa/AAA), priceda new five-year Kangaroo deal on September 19. This is the second five-year Kangaroo deal launched on September 18, with a favourable basis swap – although the five-year basis tightened to 35 basis points from 37.25 basis points in the past week according to National Australia Bank data – providing a tailwind.

Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) (AA+/Aa1/AA) priced A$750 million in a new bookbuilt transaction on September 19, its second such deal in 2012. The benchmark bond, to mature on July 21 2023, was launched on September 18 and its first following the new state government's inaugural budget and the subsequent downgrade of Queensland by Fitch Ratings.

In what will be its debut issue in the Kangaroo market, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) (AA-/Aa3/AA-) launched a new five-year transaction on September 18. According to KangaNews data, the deal will be the first non-bank financial institution (FI) Kangaroo since Swiss Re placed a hybrid issue in April 2007.

The Australian asset-backed securities market continued to see deal flow as ME Bank priced its SMHL 2012-2 transaction, and Investec Bank returned with Impala Trust No 1 Sub-series 2012-1. The second week of September also saw two small Kangaroo taps, though Australasian markets were otherwise subdued. Fitch downgraded Queensland one notch after the new government released its budget.

Australia's most recent issue of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) was completed with a headline margin 20 basis points tighter than other recent transactions. While the new deal's issuer and leads say improving breadth and depth of demand helped the tightening take place, they also point to a strong structure and pool of loans supporting the RMBS as assisting factors.

A Queensland state budget that projects A$7.8 billion (US$8.1 billion) of fiscal consolidation over the next three years – and which sparked protests in Brisbane about proposed public sector job cuts – was not enough to prevent Fitch Ratings (Fitch) downgrading the state by one notch to AA stable. The agency says it does not expect Queensland to return to a positive operating balance by the end of the 2013/14 fiscal year despite the government's contrary forecast.

In the wake of the delivery of the new state government's first budget on September 11, Queensland's state treasurer highlights fiscal consolidation and the transfer of much infrastructure spending to the private sector as key pillars of the government's goal of regaining a triple-A rating. In an exclusive interview with KangaNews, state treasurer, Tim Nicholls, says expenditure, revenue and structural changes are all in place to reverse Queensland's fiscal path.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) raised the equivalent of A$4.6 billion (US$4.8 billion) in a brace of oversubscribed deals in two days this week, which the bank says puts it comfortably on the way to meeting this year's funding requirement. CommBank sold US$3.25 billion bonds in the US market through a three-tranche senior unsecured issue on September 11, and priced A$1.5 billion in its domestic tier one hybrid offering the following day.

Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) revealed a projected borrowing programme of A$18.7 billion (US$19.6 billion) for the 2012/13 financial year on September 12, the day after the new Queensland government's first state budget. The agency ascribes the resulting A$3.2 billion reduction in borrowing expectation to the state government's "commitment to reduce expenditure and to achieve a fiscal balance in 2014/15".