Infrastructure sales to drive Aussie bonds

Sydney

AUSTRALIA'S push to privatise A$130 billion (S$142 billion) worth of state assets is set to deepen its A$388 billion corporate bond market and boost business credit, helping lenders reduce an over-reliance on mortgages that has worried the central bank.

The asset sales could be the major driver in Australia's corporate bond market this year with investment bankers targeting big Asian and Canadian investors.

A weakened Australian dollar, which fell 8.5 per cent last year, is also helping prop up the…