Australia bond sales down 20% to date despite strong start

Sydney

KANGAROO bond sales have dropped in 2015, fading after a strong start to the year even as iPhone maker Apple Inc concluded a marquee offering.

Foreign entities including sovereign-backed agencies and chipmaker Intel Corp have sold A$31.4 billion (S$32.4 billion) of Kangaroo debt this year, about 20 per cent less than at the same stage in 2014, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. Issuance for the whole of last year reached A$39.5 billion.

A widening of credit spreads has given pause to both buyers and sellers, amid market turbulence spurred by concerns about China and US interest rates. Highly-rated government-backed and supranational issuers dominate the market for overseas issuers of bonds in Australia and demand for their notes has dropped as sp…