US: San Francisco boom spurs record debt sale for airport expansion

Serving a region whose economy is fueled by the technology industry, San Francisco International Airport is embarking on a $5.7b expansion as it grapples with traffic that has nearly doubled in nine years. The city’s sale next week of $881m in airport bonds, its biggest ever, is the first in a series that will draw demand from municipal investors who’ve snapped up airline-related debt, leaving the securities on pace to outperform the overall municipal market for a sixth straight year. Overall, airports have benefited from lower fuel costs and the recovering US economy, as higher numbers of passengers boost collections from parking fees and bar tabs. San Francisco’s airport is seeing even more travelers, thanks in part to Silicon Valley. "Traffic has been booming," said Kevin Kone, the airport’s managing director for finance. "Here in the Bay area, the economy is strong. We’re responding to the needs of the traveling public." At San Francisco International, tourists, budding tech executives and professionals browse high-end boutiques and stretch in yoga rooms as they pass through the region or head to the Pacific Rim. Arrivals and departures total 51.4m in the 2016 fiscal year, up from 33.9m nine years ago.<br/>