Japan

BPCE was this week looking to become the first bank to issue a Samurai social impact bond, in an innovatively structured transaction that will go towards financing clients rather than projects. Bankers involved in the deal say it could be the first step towards broadening the role of retail banks in the social bond market.

Swedbank listed a new programme on the Tokyo Pro-Bond market on Wednesday, as the Swedish bank looks to dip its toes into ever more attractive yen funding.

Crédit Agricole sold the largest ever Samurai bond from a European bank on Friday, raising a sizeable ¥203.9bn ($1.8bn) of debt across five tranches.

There was just a smattering of public sector dollar deals this week — but a wide difference in how they fared.

KommuneKredit fell short of full subscription with a three year dollar benchmark on Thursday, with few updates provided through the book building process.

The Republic of Indonesia priced a ¥100bn ($900m) bond on Wednesday, its first public Samurai deal in decades and its maiden fundraise following an upgrade to its credit rating. Although the issuer was forced to drop a 10 year tranche, its transaction was a blow-out, reflecting Japanese investors’ strong interest in foreign paper. Addison Gong reports.

Public sector borrowers are aiming for the short end of the dollar curve, as swap spreads in the area hover around the spot in which they started 2017, having dropped sharply from the year’s highs hit in March.

A strong public sector dollar market welcomed one issuer's first $5bn sized deal this week. It was not even the only borrower to sell in size but with SSAs well-funded, there are few expectations of more large trades.

Guarantor: Japan

The renminbi fell behind the Swiss franc in terms of share of global payments in April, according to SWIFT’s RMB tracker. The Chinese currency is now the seventh most used global payment currency, accounting for only 1.6% of all payments.

The Republic of Indonesia released further guidance for its four-tranche yen transaction on Wednesday, with pricing expected in a week. The Samurai bond comes around the time the sovereign regained its investment grade status from the last of the three major ratings agencies

S&P has raised Indonesia’s long-term sovereign credit rating to BBB- from BB+ with a stable outlook, on the back of reduced risks to the country’s fiscal metrics. Seven corporates were also upgraded by the agency last Friday.