Reference: 20230113
28 March 2023
Adam Irish
[FYI request #22049 email]
Dear Adam
Thank you for your Official Information Act (OIA) request, received on 9 March 2023. You
requested the following:
1.The current ownership composition of NZ government bonds, including the types
of bonds held.
2. The current largest holders of NZ government bonds. The top 10 holders.
3. The amount and percentage of NZ government bonds held by the Reserve Bank
of New Zealand (RBNZ).
4. The amount and percentage of NZ government bonds held by NZ registered
trading banks.
5. The amount and percentage of NZ government bonds owned by offshore
investors.
6. The amount and percentage of NZ government bonds owned by offshore
governments, and which governments hold them (with a breakdown for what each
foreign country owns).
7. Any research that shows the impact of foreign investors on our foreign exchange
reserves, as well as the impact of regular coupon payments.
Information being released
For requests 1, 3, 4, 5:
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand provides data on aggregate non-resident holdings of
New Zealand Government Bonds as well as the break-down by domestic investor
type. Please see the below link:
www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/series/new-zealand-debt-securities/holdings-of-central-
government-debt-securities
Accordingly, I have refused your request for this information under section 18(d) of the
OIA:
the information requested is or will soon be publicly available.
1 The Terrace
PO Box 3724
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
tel. +64-4-472-2733
https://treasury.govt.nz
For requests 2 and 6:
New Zealand Government Bonds (NZGBs) are issued by two mechanisms:
• Tenders: Only registered tender counterparties can purchase bonds at tenders.
Primary Market Access Information | New Zealand Debt Management - The
Treasury
• Syndications: Wholesale investors can also participate in syndications. For
syndications undertaken since 2020, there is aggregated syndication allocation data
by location and by investor type available on the New Zealand Debt Management
(NZDM) website.
Government Bonds - Syndication | New Zealand Debt Management - The Treasury
However, these bonds can then be sold on to investors in the secondary bond market.
NZDM is not informed of who the bonds are sold to in the secondary market.
Therefore, I am refusing your request for this information under section 18(g)(i) of the
OIA:
that the information requested is not held by the department or Minister and there is
no reason to think that transferring the request would yield the information from another
source.
For request 7:
New Zealand Debt Management has not undertaken any research on this.
The Treasury does not hold any information relating to this request. Therefore, your
request is refused under section 18(g)(i) of the OIA –
that the information requested is not
held by the department or Minister and there is no reason to think that transferring the
request would yield the information from another source. Please note that this letter (with your personal details removed) may be published on the
Treasury website.
This reply addresses the information you requested.
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review my decision.
Yours sincerely
Paxton McKenzie
Manager, Funding Investments and Markets
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