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Korea Eximbank (Kexim) (A/A1/A+) priced its debut Kangaroo transaction on July 18, following a recent roadshow in Australia. The bank placed A$500 million (US$514.9 million) in a three-year line, making the transaction the largest-ever Kangaroo by a Korean issuer by A$150 million according to KangaNews data.

Continuing global market volatility is making it difficult to confidently predict the likely path of Australian dollar corporate issuance in the second half of the year, market participants say. While some continue to be optimistic that a solid first half can be at least repeated in the second, others point to divergent investor sentiment and a subdued supply pipeline as reasons to expect a patchy period of deal flow.

International Finance Corporation (IFC) (AAA/Aaa) priced its first new Kangaroo line of the year on July 17, following the July 16 announcement of a five-year mandate from the supranational. IFC has visited the Australian market on one previous occasion in 2012, adding A$300 million (US$306.8 million) to the 2020 bond it introduced two years previously.

Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) has announced the offer size of A$1.5 billion on July 20 after launching at an indicative A$500 million through the placement of a new tier two security called Westpac Subordinated Notes. The bank already placed a new hybrid transaction in retail format in the first quarter of this year, raising A$1.2 billion.

Having priced a top up to its 2021 bond in March, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) (AAA/Aaa/AAA) returned to the Kangaroo market with a new 10-year bond. The transaction adds to the five lines and A$4.6 billion (US$4.66 billion) outstanding for IADB.

In the week ending July 13, Australian issuance came in pairs as Kangaroo deals held steady and corporate issuance ticked up a notch with two deals pricing in each sector. There was also a duo of syndicated semi-government deals, by New South Wales Treasury Corporation and South Australian Government Financing Authority respectively. In New Zealand, Asian Development Bank priced its third-ever Kauri.

Proposed changes to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)'s APS120 relating to the capital treatment banks' holdings of subordinated securitisation tranches have been left broadly unchanged following a consultation period. The regulator rejected suggestions that its existing powers are sufficient to deal with subordinated holdings, and that subordination be defined by ratings rather than position in a securitisation's capital structure.

In its third-ever Kauri transaction, according to KangaNews data, Asian Development Bank (ADB) (AAA/Aaa/AAA) has priced a new five-year Kauri transaction on July 12. ADB has previously come to the New Zealand market in January 2010 with NZ$225 million of four-year notes and in October 2011 priced a NZ$150 million, five-year deal.

Crown (BBB/Baa2/BBB) priced its debut own-name domestic bond market transaction on July 12 as guarantor of a A$275 million (US$279.8 million) fixed-rate issue by Crown Group Finance (Crown Finance). The deal, which has all the domestic big four banks as leads, has a pricing margin of 250 basis points over mid-swap.

New South Wales Treasury Corporation (TCorp) (AAA/Aaa) priceda new July 2014 benchmark bond line on July 11, with a volume of A$1 billion (US$1.02 billion). The deal, which TCorp says is brought in response to reverse enquiry, was completed via a bookbuild process on the day of launch with Citi acting as sole lead manager.

Interest in the Australian debt capital market from Korean institutions continued in the week beginning July 9 as Korea Eximbank (Kexim) commenced a roadshow in Sydney and Melbourne. The visit came just a week after another Korean quasi-sovereign corporate, Korean National Oil Corporation, also updated Australian investors with hopes of eventually becoming a consistent Kangaroo borrower.

Holcim Finance Australia (Holcim) (BBB/Baa2/BBB) priced its second domestic transaction of 2012 on July 10, pricing A$250 million (US$255.1 million) in a new five-year, fixed rate note. According to KangaNews data, this will be the first time Holcim has priced two separate transactions in Australia in the same calendar year; it sold A$250 million of three-year paper in March.