Uridashi bonds

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An Uridashi bond is a secondary offering of bonds outside Japan. They can be denominated in Yen or issued in a foreign currency. These bonds are sold to Japanese household investors. An Uridashi bond is normally issued in high-yielding currencies such as New Zealand Dollars or Australian Dollars in order to give the investor a higher return than the historically low domestic interest rate in Japan. [1]

Provided that the interest rate differential between the foreign and local currency is maintained, the investor will receive higher interest rate payments than if he/she had invested in a Japanese Yen - denominated bond. [2] In addition to the credit risk on the bond issuer, the investor also takes on currency risk since the foreign currency denominated coupon payments will have to be exchanged into Japanese Yen for the retail investor or if the investor should wish to sell the bond and exchange the proceeds from the sale back into Japanese Yen. Where the bond is issued in Japanese Yen, they are typically linked to a foreign currency or to an equity index like the Nikkei.

Uridashi bonds became very popular in the 2000s and are often associated with the carry trade in which a loan is made in a low interest currency to buy instruments in a higher yield currency. During the 2008 financial crisis the carry trade and foreign currency bonds in general came under criticism in Japan for contributing to the crisis. [3]

On 1 November 2015 the size of the Uridashi Bond Market was US$33.2bn equivalent in 15 different currencies. [4]

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Japanese yen Official currency of Japan

The yen is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the Euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the United States dollar and the Euro.

Bond (finance) Instrument of indebtedness

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Government bond Bond issued by a government

A government bond or sovereign bond is an debt obligation issued by a national government to support government spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments, and to repay the face value on the maturity date. For example, a bondholder invests $20,000 into a 10-year government bond with a 10% annual coupon; the government would pay the bondholder 10% of the $20,000 each year. At the maturity date the government would give back the original $20,000.

Exchange rate Rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another

In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of the euro.

Fixed income

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Endaka

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Currency intervention Monetary policy operation

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A Yankee Bond is a bond issued by a foreign entity, such as a bank or company, but is issued and traded in the United States and denominated in U.S. dollars. For instance, Company ABC is headquartered in France. If Company ABC issues bonds in the United States that are denominated in U.S. dollars, the bonds are Yankee bonds. Yankee bonds are normally issued in tranches, a large debt structure financing arrangement into a lot of portion, each portions have different level of risk, interest rates and maturities, and the value of investment grouping might be extremely high, as much as $1 billion. U.S. investors buy Yankee bonds to branch out into overseas markets. Yankee bonds are same with other bonds which will require the borrower to pay a certain interest rate and principal amount according to the terms of the indenture. Yankee Bonds are administered by the Securities Act of 1933. A non-American company will sell bonds in United States to raise capital from American investors. Therefore, the issuers from non-American company have to register Yankee Bonds with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before offering the bond for sale. Hence, U.S. investors can purchase the securities issued by the foreign entity without worrying about the price fluctuation created by changes in currency exchange rates. Yankee bond prices are mostly influenced by the variations of interest rates in U.S. and the financial condition of the issuer.

References

  1. "Asian bond issues in Tokyo: history, structure and prospects" (PDF). BIS. BIS. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  2. Madhura Karnik (November 1, 2016). "Looking for fat profits, Japanese households are betting big on the Indian rupee".
  3. "Uridashi! The Bubble Buster".
  4. "Uridashi". cmdportal. cmdportal. Retrieved 24 June 2021.