Q.

When do Government bonds start trading on the ASX?

A.

Government bonds finally commenced trading on the ASX yesterday (21 May 2013) after many years of planning.

There are currently 17 nominal bonds and five inflation linked bonds (ILB) issued by the Commonwealth Government that are available for purchase in parcels as small as $100.

On the first day of trade there were $319,000 worth of bonds transacted across seven nominal and two ILB lines. This compares to circa $6.8bn in average daily volume in the over the counter market (according to AFMA data).

The following table looks at the nominal bonds available and the yield to maturity based on the last trade on 21 May 2013.

For further information on the ASX listed Government bond market, see the following link:

http://australiangovernmentbonds.gov.au/

We invite readers to send any questions they have to thewire@fiig.com.au and each week we will endeavour to answer the most common queries.