Expanding yen product menu attracts global issuers

Borrowers looking to access the yen market have an increasingly broad menu of options to choose from, ranging from JBIC-guaranteed Samurai bonds (for some sovereigns) through to unguaranteed bonds targeted at institutional or retail accounts. There is also a new option available in the form of Pro-Bond listed issues, while in the retail market Uridashi issuance remains as popular as ever. Volumes in this market continue to be robust. Issuance reached ¥2.1tr in 2011, according to data provided by Daiwa, which was on a par with 2010 and up strongly from about ¥1.5tr in 2009. The market is also healthily diversified from a geographical perspective, with Europe accounting for 29% of issuance to date in 2012, followed by Australia (23%), Korea (22%) and the US (20%). To describe their experience in these different markets, a cross-section of borrowers exchanged their views in the EuroWeek yen issuance roundtable.