World Bank Starts Off the New Year with a Successful Australian Dollar 600 Million 5-Year Global Bond

The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, rated Aaa/AAA) priced a new 5-year Australian dollar (AUD) 600 million fixed-rate global bond. This bond opens World Bank’s global benchmark transactions for 2017.

The AUD 600 million bond is due on January 12, 2022 and has a semi-annual coupon of 2.80% p.a. with an issue price of 99.954%. This equates to a spread of 52.75 basis points over the Australian Government Bond (ACGB) due July 2022. Settlement date is January 12, 2017.

The joint lead-managers for the transaction are ANZ, Nomura and TD Securities.

“We are delighted to herald the New Year with such a successful transaction. It is the largest 5-year benchmark Kangaroo bond issue by a supranational and agency issuer since our last transaction in July last year. The broad interest from investors around the globe shows they appreciate this high-quality, liquid offering that supports sustainable development,” said Arunma Oteh, Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank.

The notes were distributed to a broad range of investors in Australia (50%), Asia – excluding Japan – (28%), Japan (15%), the Americas (5%) and Europe (2%). They were purchased by asset managers (40%), banks/corporates (34%), and central banks/official institutions (26%). Investors remain attracted by the rarity of the World Bank in this market, the World Bank’s sustainable development purpose and global recognition of the name, the strength of the credit, and the liquidity afforded to investors.

Investor Distribution

Joint Lead Manager Quotes

“Another great transaction from the one of the highest profile issuers in the Kangaroo new issue market, grabbing early mover advantage, The World Bank is once again leading the way in the SSA sector in Australian dollars. It was particularly pleasing to see the breadth of accounts participating in this transaction, showcasing the appetite for Kangaroo product, in particular when issued by such a high profile issuer. ANZ was very pleased to re-open the Kangaroo market with this very successful offering,” said Harald Eikeland, Director, Debt Syndicate, ANZ.

“After building up liquidity in the 2021 line over the course of 2016, the World Bank has now successfully completed a new AUD 600 million on-the-run bond, due in 2022. The trade received a welcome response from a broad range of investors, filling a much needed gap in the market and reconfirming the World Bank’s role as one of the most strategic reference credits in the SSA space,” said Mark Yeomans, Executive Director, Nomura.

“This was another important transaction for the Kangaroo market which has seen lower issuance volumes in the past 6 months. The SSA market needed a fairly priced benchmark offering from a premier name, and it is exactly what it got. The result was a granular book with a strong domestic influence. Investor take-up from across the investor spectrum was witnessed. TD Securities was very happy to bring World Bank back to the Kangaroo market,” said Tom Irving, Managing Director, Head of Asian Syndicate, TD Securities.

The notes are issued under the laws of New South Wales and documented under the World Bank’s Global Debt Issuance Facility. The notes will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, will settle through Austraclear, Euroclear and Clearstream, and qualify as eligible collateral for repurchase agreements for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s open market operations

About the World Bank
The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD), rated Aaa/AAA (Moody’s/S&P), is an international organization created in 1944. It operates as a global development cooperative owned by 189 nations. It provides its members with financing, expertise and coordination services so they can achieve equitable and sustainable economic growth in their national economies and find effective solutions to pressing regional and global economic and environmental problems. The World Bank Group has two main goals: to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity.