Westpac Bets on $72 Billion Road to Rail Boost: Australia Credit
This article is for subscribers only.
Australian banks are set for a lending boost as Prime Minister Tony Abbott champions ventures to revitalize the economy, accelerating some of the more than A$80 billion ($72 billion) of infrastructure projects.
The upgrade of Sydney highways and a Melbourne-to-Brisbane railway are among proposals being part-funded by the government, as Westpac Banking Corp. estimates such projects will need as much as A$20 billion of bank debt over the next two years. Syndicated loan volumes in Australia have risen by 32 percent this year, compared with a 6 percent increase in the Asia-Pacific region, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.