Samurai Bonds Issuance Rises

Samurai bond issuance is rising due to low Japanese interest rates and demand from Japanese investors. About $7.2 billion worth of Samurai bonds have been issued this year by Asia-Pacific borrowers. While this is down from the $8.2 billion issued over the same period the previous year, it is up 20 percent from 2010. Japanese investors are eager for the samurai bonds after the 2011 tsunami revealed the problems with too much domestic debt exposure, resulting in "reverse roadshows". Typically, a lender will have a roadshow to attract potential investors, but demand for samurai bonds is so high that borrowers are running reverse roadshows in which they search for potential lenders to offer samurai bonds.