Kommunalbanken Norway, which is owned by Norway's oil-fuelled sovereign wealth fund and lends to Norwegian local councils, has issued a NZ$520 million Uridashi bond that is set to mature in March 2011. The issue managed by Daiwa was reassuring to the foreign exchange market at a time when nerves are growing about whether NZ$4.6 billion worth of maturing Uridashi bonds will be rolled or redeemed over the next 3 months. ANZ also issued a NZ$10 million Uridashi that was set to mature in March 2011. Westpac reported that only NZ$666 million of Eurobonds were issued in January, which was less than the NZ$1.9 billion of worth of Eurobonds maturing over the same period, with 70% of issues being Uridashis and 30% being Eurokiwis. Westpac said there was a risk some of the Uridashis due in the next few months would not be rolled over."The next three months see a total of NZ$4.6 billion in Eurobonds maturing, and further ahead, July sees a whopping NZ$4.8 billion," said Westpac senior market strategist Imre Speizer. "We don't see an abrupt turnaround in appetite occurring in that time-frame, and must conclude outflows will pick up in pace, and further pressure the NZ dollar downwards," Speizer said in an emailed report. * This article was first published yesterday in our daily subscription newsletter for the banking and finance industries. The email costs NZ$365 per annum and carries exclusive news and analysis for New Zealand banking and finance industry executives, regulators and investors. Sign up for a free trial here.
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