Upcoming maturities
With the recent resurgence in true corporate issuance, speculation has mounted on where more such issuance will come from. We mentioned a couple of names last week, which remain short-term prospects, but apart from these potential issuers the best guide can be obtained from looking at upcoming maturities.Analysts at National Australia Bank pointed out that between now and the end of 2010 there will be A$2 billion of A-REIT (property trust) bonds maturing but they missed the big one. As the chart below shows (for those reading at the website) there is A$2.9 billion of bonds issued by 'utilities' maturing next year and there is still some A$1.2 billion of such bonds to mature this year. These bonds were issued by entities such as Transurban, Energy Partnership Gas, ElectraNet, Citipower, AGL Energy (or Australian Gas Light, as it was), Citipower, Snowy Hydro, Envestra, ETSA Utilities - the list goes on. And while many of these bonds were credit wrapped, the issuers are all investment grade entities that can issue in their own right, and given current conditions, should be warmly welcomed by investors. In addition, Brisbane Airport has A$350 million of credit wrapped bonds maturing next June and Adelaide Airport has A$240 million of bonds maturing the following December. Both are said to have already met with investors to discuss options for these maturing issues.It is also worth looking at upcoming maturities of bonds that have been issued by Australian borrowers in international markets. Some may find it is easier to issue at home rather than go offshore again. Downer EDI has the September 2009 tranche of a US$125 million traditional private placement coming due. It also has a A$70 million domestic issue coming due in December. CSL Limited has US$100 million of a US traditional private placement maturing in November. Next year offers greater potential, with Telstra having more than A$1.0 billion of bonds falling due in June and Westfield has just under A$1.0 billion coming due in November. OneSteel has around A$115 million coming due in March, Lion Nathan and Coca-Cola Amatil have bonds falling due in May - around A$300 million and A$140 million, respectively - and Australian Pipeline Trust needs to repay approximately A$100 million in August.