Exclusive: New Zealand Treasury Debt Management Chief: Green Issuance to Focus on Existing 2034 Bond

21 July 2025

Exclusive: New Zealand Treasury Debt Management Chief: Green Issuance to Focus on Existing 2034 Bond
- Kim Martin, NZ Debt Mgmt Chief of Treasury: Timing of two more taps of NZGB lines may not follow 2024 pattern
- Martin: Will issue new 2050 inflation-index bond before 30 June 2026
- Martin: Inflation linked bonds to remain part of our funding mix
- Martin: No reasons to diversify beyond our programme for long-dated issuance
- Martin: ‘A range of factors would need to align before we issued in other currencies’

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – New Zealand will focus its green bond issuance on its existing 2034 maturity so as to maximise liquidity in this bond, according to the New Zealand Debt Management Chief of the Treasury, Kim Martin.

In an interview with Econostream on 18 July 2025, Martin said that green bond issuance is approached ‘with the same funding strategy as our other nominal bonds i.e. we anticipate issuing into the bond throughout its life cycle and it can be expected to be offered for tender periodically.’

Asked if New Zealand was planning to introduce a new green bond maturity in the near future, Martin said that for now the intention was to focus on the issuance of the existing 2034 maturity to maximise liquidity.

Regarding the expectations of two more syndicate taps of existing NZGB lines in 2025/26, she said that last year’s pattern of taps in Q1, Q2 and Q3 was not necessarily a ‘guide’ for this year.

‘However, as we narrow down windows for execution, we will communicate this to the market’, she added.

As for the new 2050 inflation-indexed bond, Martin highlighted that the intention, as previously announced, was to syndicate this bond before 30 June 2026.

Despite other sovereigns exiting the inflation-linked bond market, the New Zealand Treasury had made it clear these instruments would remain part of its funding mix, she said.

Asked about the reason why the EMTN programme had remained inactive since 2004, Martin said that since then the Treasury had not seen reasons to diversify beyond its programme for long-dated issuance.

With respect to potential issuance in other currencies like the euro, Martin said that New Zealand had a ‘strategic, rather than tactical approach to issuance, so a range of factors would need to align before we issued in other currencies.’

As for the May 2031 syndicate tap in early July, Martin said it was ‘the largest ever book for a NZGB deal’ and that the Treasury was able to issue NZ$6 billion, the maximum volume.