The country's largest shopping mall owner, Westfield-operator Scentre, has raised $US3 billion ($4.01 billion) through a hybrid debt issue, tapping into a form of finance rarely used in the local market to defend its battered balance sheet from weakening retail property values.

While Scentre's move into the debt market was signalled earlier this week, the issuance at $US3 billion is significantly larger than initially expected. Even so, it is understood the bookbuild at its peak pulled in $US10 billion in investor demand, with more than 450 investor orders across two tranches.