Japan

Three banks jumped into the euro senior market after the Easter break on Tuesday, benefitting from stable demand and printing with low new issue concessions.

The Republic of the Philippines sold its first zero-coupon bond in the Japanese market this week.

While European banks have been ducking the covered bond market in favour of central bank liquidity, issuance from the asset class’s newer markets has also been light, but for different reasons. Attention is now on South Korea and Japan, which are seen as the most promising sources of new issuance, according to a senior S&P ratings official.

Two companies have brought out green and sustainable bond frameworks this week that take the product in new directions — EU Taxonomy compliance and introducing a completely new word to the sustainable finance lexicon: “woven”.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields from the close of business on Monday, March 1. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

Development Bank of Japan became the second SSA borrower of the week to sell a dollar benchmark in the supplied three year tenor, tightening pricing by 5bp on the sustainability bond.

Two SSA borrowers hit screens on Tuesday to announce benchmark bonds. Deal flow in the SSA market has slowed after the January rush, but borrowers are still keeping investors busy with a regular flow of deals.

Thai Union Group, a seafood producer, has raised its first sustainability-linked loan of Bt12bn ($401m)-equivalent from the Thai and Japanese markets.

Nomura’s new chief executive is off to a strong start. Mark that down as a point for investment bankers.

Nomura said that net revenues in its investment banking business for the last three months of 2020 were the highest in nine years. Yet while it was a good quarter overall for the firm's wholesale business, revenue fell year on year in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation has picked backs for a sterling five year benchmark, replacing its last bond in the currency — a trade issued in February 2014 that matured in December 2020.

Credit Suisse has boosted its investment banking operation in Japan by creating a new equity capital markets unit in the country.