Yen

Malaysia has closed the biggest sovereign Samurai bond in 18 years, raising ¥200bn ($1.79bn) from what could be just the first of many such deals to come.

Power Grid Corporation of India has broken a seven-year absence from the international loan market to target Japanese liquidity for a ¥22bn ($201m) Samurai deal.

Korea National Oil Corp’s debut in the Japanese yen market on Wednesday was one to remember. The deal was the largest single-tranche Samurai bond on record in Asia, despite a rise in tensions between the two countries.

Housing Development Finance Corp is taking the Samurai loan route for its second syndicated financing of the year.

CPI Property, which owns real estate in Berlin and central and eastern Europe, entered Tokyo’s Pro-Bond market on Friday, raising ¥11bn ($97m) across three and 10 years tranches.

Bank of China sold green bonds denominated in yen and offshore renminbi (CNH) last week, ending its long absence in the Japanese market.

China and Japan confirm details of currency swaps and plans to invest more in third party markets, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) renews the license of nine authorised institutions as Primary Liquidity Providers (PLPs) for the CNH market in Hong Kong and Singapore sets up new government agency to bridge the funding gap facing Asia’s infrastructure projects.

It has been a momentous year in the yen market. Having long been seen as a very traditional and conservative part of the financial world, Japan has been embracing change.

GDP has bounced back in Japan, but the country faces some stubborn problems, some long-standing — such as low inflation, consumption tax rollout and an ageing population — and some new, including an increasingly protectionist US. Philip Moore reports.

Japan’s investors are hungry for yield. The likes of the Government Pension Investment Fund and the country’s regional banks, are going farther afield and widening their scope to include emerging markets as they hunt for returns. Jonathan Breen reports.

Signs of a revival in primary bond market activity were evident on Tuesday when four Asian issuers ventured out for new dollar transactions, setting the stage for what is set to be a busy September.

The Republic of the Philippines attracted more investor demand than expected on its return after eight years to the Japanese yen bond market. Its outstanding dollar bonds outperformed in secondary trading as the new deal was being marketed.