Govt sells $856M in ‘samurai’ bonds
THE government returned to the Japanese market on Friday by raising 92 billion yen (about $855.6 million) worth of multitenor “samurai” bonds.
“The book was more than 100 billion yen, but we only issued 92 billion yen. Even that, we really just wanted $750 million to show our appreciation to those investors who participated,” National Treasurer
told reporters.
The three-, five-, seven- and 10-year tenors that made up the offering raised 30.4 billion, 21 billion, 17.9 billion and 22.7 billion yen, respectively
The issuance fetched coupon rates of 0.18 percent, 0.28 percent, 0.43 percent and 0.59 percent for the three-, five-, seven- and 10-year tenors, respectively.
The three-year bond will mature on Aug. 15, 2022; the five-year, on Aug. 15, 2024; the seven-year, on Aug. 14, 2026; and the 10-year, on August 15, 2029.
Transactions will be settled on August 15.
International debt watcher S&P Global Ratings assigned the issuance an investment grade rating of “BBB+.”
“The notes represent direct, general, unconditional, unsecured, and unsubordinated obligations of the sovereign, and rank equally with the sovereign’s other unsecured and unsubordinated debt obligations,” S&P said in a statement on Friday.
Another global credit-rating agency, Moody’s Investors Service, also assigned an investment grade rating, saying “it mirrors the [Philippine government’s] issuer rating of ‘Baa2’ and a stable outlook.”
Samurai bonds are yen-denominated securities issued by non-Japanese entities in Tokyo.
De Leon earlier said the samurai bond program was part of the government’s diversification of its funding sources.
The government last sold samurai bonds in August last year, when it raised 154.2 billion yen or $1.39 billion — a result the government described as reflective of strong investor interest in the country.
The three-, five-, and 10-year tenors that made up that offering raised 107.2 billion, 6.2 billion and 40.8 billion yen, respectively.
The bond issuance fetched coupon rates of 0.38 percent, 0.54 percent and 0.99 percent for the three-, five- and 10-year tenors, respectively.
Overall, the transaction yielded a weighted average spread of 34.7 basis points above the benchmark.|
The transaction was settled on Aug. 15, 2018.