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The article presents information on the Electronically Recorded Claims Act recently passed by the Japanese government to address the use of monetary claims that are electronically recorded, so paperless. The Act includes include commercial paper and accounts receivable that are transferred electronically, which means in a safer manner than the traditional scheme. It provides processes for the creation and transfer of electronically recorded claims. It defines electronically recorded claims as monetary claims, the generation or transfer of which is required to be electronically recorded under this Act. It also attempts to protect information recorded in an electronically recorded claim.

This section offers news briefs on medium term note (MTN) and commercial paper (CP) markets. Several MTN trades in Japan were reported including a 25 billion yen perpetual non-call 5 year capital issue placed by UBS for Saitama Resona Bank and the sale of 2 billion yen of 22 year rate note by Severn Trent. Meanwhile, Nomura placed a $120 million 10 year quarterly callable paying 6.03% for LW Rentenbank.

The article deals with the sale of ¥60 billion of Euroyen bonds repackaged into Uridashi format by General Electric Capital Corp. (GECC) to allow most of the issue to be distributed in Japan. The withholding tax treatment uncertainties in 2006 forced GECC to consider alternative methods of tapping domestic Japanese investors. The floating rate note (FRN) tranche was added in response to reverse enquiries from investors. It offers enough spread and trades at Libor plus.

The article recalls the sale of a global Japanese yen bond issued by Pfizer in February 2006. Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International was the joint bookrunner on both five and 10-year tranches. The pricing, which were above yen London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), was attractive to Japanese investors. The deal received support from cash buyers despite the volatility of the yen market that time.

The article reports that the euro swap curve have steepened following developments in the U.S. market and the disappointing Eu5.39 billion sale of 30 year paper of Germany in January 2006. There is a possibility that Japan may end its zero interest rate policy in the near future. The Eu5 billion 15 year asset swap spread of BTP from Italy is the biggest issue during the period.

Presents updates on the structured finance market in Tokyo, Japan as of March 2005. Launch of securitisations of Mizuho Securities and Mizuho Investors Securities sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government; Information on the equipment lease securitisation launched by Mizuho Securities for Showa Leasing Co.

Assesses the role of power reverse dual currency (PRDC) structure on the Euro medium term note (MTN) market in Japan and looks at the alternatives for yen investors. Record levels of yen issuance in the EuroMTN market in 2003; Threats to PRDC; Top issuers of yen.

Presents an update on the capital markets in Japan as of March 2002. Securitization of card loans under the Clare program of consumer credit company, Orient Corp.; Information on the third securitization launched by AEL Corporation.

Certification shows transition investments in tough sectors can be green [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Certification shows transition investments in tough sectors can be green [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the renewed caution among government-guaranteed borrowers in Japan to approach international markets that have become volatile. Companies that are planning to launch international ventures; Indications of the doubts of borrowers; Reasons for the reluctance among Japanese issuers to tap the international markets. INSETS: Jaybic: new life for an interational borrower;Learning to live with low ratings.

J Ryan Dwyer III, Tsuguhito Omagari and Andrea Ng, K&L Gates [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japanese retail investors will, for the first time, have the chance to invest in the International Finance Corporation's Masala programme after the supranational launched on Tuesday its first Masala Uridashi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on Japanese bankers' business exposure in Mexico. Over the weekend, Japan's business daily, the "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" had obtained and published a confidential list of individual banks' exposure in Mexico. Top of the list were four banks with total exposure of $1 billion each--Bank of Tokyo, Fuji Bank, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Ltd. and Sumitomo Bank, closely followed by the Industrial Bank of Japan, with almost $900 million at risk, and Mitsubishi Bank, with $850 million. The numbers were highly embarrassing for Japan's top international banks, but more embarrassing still were the paper's estimates of Mexican exposure as a percentage of the banks' equity. The Bank of Tokyo was shown to have over 80% of its equity at risk in Mexico. Yasuda Trust and Banking's exposure was 77% of its capital. And other banks--the Long- Term Credit Bank of Japan, Tokai Bank, Mitsubishi Trust and Banking and the Bank of Yokohama --stood to lose over half of their equity if Mexico were to default.

The article presents a special report by WestLB AG on the implications of deregulation in Japan. For Japan, the end of 1996 came with the most radical package of deregulatory measures in two generations. It was a belated acknowledgement that the Japanese postwar economic model had broken down and the time had come to chart a new course. The principle goal is to restore international competitiveness by reducing the cost of doing business in Japan. In 1996 July, Shusei Tanaka, then-director general of Economic Planning Agency, identified five major areas in urgent need of reform: telecommunications, transportation, finance, land and housing, and employment. Allowing market forces to prevail in these areas would bring about large price reductions and thus decrease key business costs. This logic was illustrated in 1996 April in a white paper prepared by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency arguing that a 10% reduction in the cost of distribution, energy, and financial services by the year 2000 would enable small companies to increase output by 3.9%.

The article informs that investors and stock analysts will be playing a key role in reshaping corporate accountability, as Asian equity markets become more open. Many chief executives in the region are fast realizing this. Much needs to be done. In the emerging markets, there is a broad sweep of companies that still operate very much as if they were privately-held entities. In these markets, investors do not hesitate to use sharply critical language when describing the management. Even in the more developed markets, a handful of corporates are notorious for their constant paper shuffling. The article produces separate rankings for companies which investors and analysts consider as having the most deficient senior management and three of the smaller companies with the brightest outlook for profits growth. Where there is a consensus view, results are also presented in the following pages. A total of 143 returns were received by the authors over a four-week period. Of this total, 98 forms were sent in by institutional investors. About two-thirds of the returns were from Asia-Pacific investors while the balance came from those based in Great Britain, continental Europe and Japan. Equity analysts based in the Asia Pacific region submitted 45 returns. One of the biggest drawbacks of ranking companies in this poll is that it excludes all non-listed companies.

This article focuses on Japan's increasing influence on world market. International bankers and borrowers are well aware of the need to keep up to date with developments in Japanese finance. The problem is that deregulation in Japan proceeds in bursts, most of the time it's at a standstill but, when it moves, it does so at lightning speed. Signs are that a period of rapid deregulation is about to hit Japan. The auction system for government bonds is soon to be extended to six,15, and 20-year maturities. Domestic commercial paper looks set to start in October this year; significantly because this knocks the first big hole in the barriers between the banking and securities industries both banks and securities houses will, be dealers. And the government is discussing ways of breathing life back into the domestic bond markets. Whatever happens, Japan is going to play an increasingly important role in world finance. One Japanese newspaper went so far as to use the expression "Pax Japonica" to describe Japan's future position in the world economy. The newspaper argued that Japan looked set to take over the leading role at present occupied by the United States.

This article discusses trends in the initial public offering market in Japan as of November 2004. More than $13 billion has been raised through Japanese initial public offerings, according to Dealogic, including some of the largest deals in years. NTT Urban Development priced its share offering at the higher end of expectations and the shares begin trading early this month. The trend toward aggressive pricing seems set to continue, with both Elpida and INPEX setting strong price ranges for their forthcoming debuts. Sentiments towards Japanese stocks has generally greatly improved in 2004 and appetite for new issues has been particularly strong across the board. Secondary market trading in J-Power was solid, if not spectacular, with the share price closing its first day 3% ahead of the issue price. Recent frenzied activity in the initial public offering market has led to concerns among market [practitioners that investors might begin to choke on all of the planned new paper, hindering the prospects for those companies rushing to close their offerings before the year-end. Investing in initial public offerings simply because the last one made money seems like dangerous reasoning, but if it applies Japan would not be the only Asian market guilty of emotional investing.

The article focuses on the popularity of yen-denominated bonds despite problems in the Japanese economy. In Japan the economy continues to sink towards recession, banks struggle under the weight of bad debts and companies edge towards painful restructuring. Although the size of issues reflects a general trend in the international bond markets for smaller deals, the yen market is still capable of making headlines. Even for higher-rated names, changing conditions in Europe, such as the attack by the European Union on the protected status of Germany's Landesbanks have caused an increase in funding costs. While the appetite and cash for investing persists in Japan, and funding requirements and economic conditions for domestic corporates remain the same, both Euroyen and samurai issues will continue to be a source of funds for non-Japanese borrowers.

Reports that the pace of yen borrowing in international markets and in the Japanese domestic market by non-Japanese issuers has slowed in 2001. Key factor for the strong reception for a variety of foreign borrowers; Why foreign investors are attracted to samurai bonds rather than global bonds.

G-SIBs looking at stable yen funding should consider clarifying their senior preferred documentation to expand investor access amid rising funding costs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the world bank's obsession for liquidity. Kenneth Lay, director of the bank's financial operations department, thinks nothing of calling up dealers in his outstanding yen global bond issues and asking them whether they have noticed widening of their spread to Japanese government bonds. He badgers his largest investors to make their bonds available by repurchase agreements and bond lending. Liquidity concerns dictate the structure and timing of the bank's deals. The bank believes its paper can outperform larger Eurobond issues because the global structure gives it a diversity of demand, in terms of geography and investor type. To promote the greatest possible liquidity the bank had not only to reduce these costs and make it easy for us investors to trade the paper, it also had to ensure that the deal remained well grounded in the German domestic market. World Bank paper has remained in the top 10 bonds traded through Euroclear for up to 20 months.

Japan's Norinchukin Bank revealed in its full year 2018 earnings presentation Wednesday that it grew its CLO holdings by 8.8% during the first quarter of 2019, although a look into its books shows a tenuous picture of a bank that is aggressively pursuing yield beyond its own borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For people who deal with new technologies every day, patent attorneys have been surprisingly reluctant to take up online filing. Japan and Korea receive the majority of their patent applications electronically, recent attempts by patent offices to provide integrated online services have not proved successful. At the beginning of this year, WIPO launched a new initiative aimed at users of the international PCT system. There are some 110,000 PCT applications every year. PCT-SAFE was launched at the beginning of this year and is available for download from WIPO's website.

The article focuses on the industrial region of Shizuoka in Japan and how it fared in the global economic downturn as of 2010. It cites that the region is ranked third when it comes to the value of industrial product shipments. Also mentioned is the high credit ratings being given to Shizuoka. In an interview with the members of the finance and treasury team of Shizuoka, they offered their views on the bond issuance activities and future plans of the prefecture.

The article focuses on the efforts of the Osaka Prefecture in Japan to face the challenges posed by the global economic downturn. Cited as one of the main industrial features of Osaka is being known as the region for Small and Medium-Sized Companies. It notes the cooperation among the management of Osaka Prefecture, its people and its industries to improve the economic outlook and fiscal stability of the prefecture. In an interview with Finance and Budget Division director Yasutoyo Tosa, he commented on the issuance activities and plans of Osaka.

This article reports on the opening of the bond market in Japan for sovereign, supranational agency (SSA) borrowers after the price shift in dollar and euro SSA markets. It notes that the success in Japan SSA issuance is also helped by the plus range of London Interbank Offered Rates (Libor) pricing. The yen has become an attractive funding place for many SSA issuers because Japanese investors are eager to buy SSA bonds. Another factor that helped spur the Japanese market is the emergence of the government guaranteed bank debt asset class.

The article reports on the economic turbulence in the euro market where sovereign, supranational and agency issuers (SSAs) postponed bond issues while dollar opens. Eurofima, an issuer of long dated bonds realized that a-10 year proposition would be tough due to market conditions. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation issued a $1.5 billion five year bond, a dollar deal with Japanese government-guaranteed issuer. L-Bank issued a three-year Eurodollar bond from Bank of America, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.

The article reports that the electronic share certificate system in Japan will be implemented on January 5, 2009 under the Law on Book-entry Transfer of Corporate Bonds, Stocks and Other Securities. As reported, upon implementation, shareholders' rights in all listed companies will be recorded and managed electronically in transfer account books by record-keeping organizations such as banks and securities companies. It is also reported that for a non-Japan Securities Depository Centre (JASDEC) shareholder, even if the actual shareholders' names appear on the list of shareholders and their rights are correctly recorded, a transaction involving their shares cannot be executed if the rights to the shares remain in the special account created for the transition as previously mentioned.

The article focuses on the transition of the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) to privatised status and its role in the government's plans for its future as a private enterprise. As part of its privatisation, the bank will likely focus on project finance, corporate turnaround assistance and support the privatisation of services such as waterworks. DBJ could achieve a rating of double-A post-privatisation according to Mitsuhiro Fukao of the Japan Centre for Economic Research. DBJ was established in 1999 as a successor to the Japan Development Bank.

Reports on the 20 year global yen bond sold by the Development Bank of Japan in June 2003 through Nomura and UBS. Value of the bond; Investors which participated in the transaction; Objective of the transaction.

Provides information on the bond offerings issued at the Samurai market in Japan. Factors which led to increase in the demand for the coupon bond offering of Korea Development Bank; Terms of the bonds issued by the Republic of Croatia; Credit rating given by Standard & Poor's for Petroliam Nasional Berhad.

Deals with the status of the Samurai bond market of Japan in 1999. Attitude of domestic investors toward the market; Effect of the narrowing of the basis swap on the market; Emerging market and agency and corporate issuers.

The article examines lessons from the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami and discusses the impact of these disasters on the financial markets. Based on government estimates, the earthquake caused physical destruction amounting to 309 billion U.S. dollars. The Bank of Japan forecasts the return of a moderate economic growth in the country. A research paper by MSCI showed that the earthquake resulted in high stock market volatility.

The article reports that Nomura Tourist Bureau (NTB), a travel agency set up by Nomura Securities Co. of Japan, organizes lecture tours around the major financial institutions and industrial centres of the world. Originally, the NTB provided cheap travel for jet-setting Nomura executives only, but soon anyone could join a touring party, whose size can vary from two to 400. Each trip has a specific theme. Most have a financial flavour, but they can concern any topical issue. ranging from property development in China, or the future of western society, to expansions in specific businesses. Each tour is coordinated with the help of Nihon Keizai Shimbum, a major Japanese financial paper, or Nomura's business associates in relevant countries. A party will expect to leave with an NTB guide, acquire a local interpreter en route and be subjected to a rigorous regime of lectures by academics, economists, representatives of banking institutions and industry and civil servants. The NTB is particularly proud of its Chinese connection. INSET: You American? Read this..

The article focuses on Nomura International PLC. Nomura International PLC (Hong Kong) yearns to be taken seriously. After 33 some what pedestrian years in Hong Kong and the region, it wants to shed the image of being a mere branch office of its Tokyo head-quarters. No effort is being spared. Already, by moving its Asian regional offices to Hong Kong and Singapore less than two years ago, Nomura International PLC has done what no other Japanese securities company has attempted before. In the early 1980s, Nomura International was little more than the sales office for Japanese securities in Asia. Then, as the Nikkei 225 plummeted towards the end of the decade, it ventured offshore and dabbled in debt and equity origination. Its poor understanding of Asian risk and the quick boom and bust cycles of emerging markets, however, bruised it badly and left an inventory of expensive paper. In Taiwan, Nomura International Inc. arranged a US$45 million Euroconvertible bond for Acer Inc., which bombed following its launch. The bond was launched despite uncertainties about the company's fundamentals.

This article informs that the Japanese stock market is being flooded by massive new issues, privatization IPOs and corporations selling their shares in other companies. All as individual and international investors are withdrawing their support. On August 28 the Bank of Japan (BOJ) released an unexpectedly pessimistic assessment of Japan's economic prospects for the next quarter, the most heavily-traded shares on the Tokyo stock market belonged to TYK, a little-known maker of heat-resistant bricks for the Japanese steel industry. In contrast to the BOJ's near-term economic outlook, or "tankan," which stated that an increasing number of Japanese manufacturers foresaw worsening conditions in the next three months. The custom among Japanese corporations of holding shares in other companies, an arrangement that had shored up share prices by keeping more than half of all issues out of circulation, began to unravel, resulting in a flood of paper being released into an already illiquid market. Japan's big banks, still smarting from writing off bad debts, were reported to be ready to launch big new issues in order to maintain capitalization requirements.

On March 28 1995, the Japanese press got one of its rare scoops. Mitsubishi Bank and Bank of Tokyo, the papers announced, were preparing to merge and form the world's biggest bank. The news was a godsend for the country's banks, just three days away from the end of the financial year. The Nikkei 225 rose 3.6% the day the story broke, giving them a chance to sell equities just in time to boost their profit figures. As one group of analysts marvelled at the "synergy" and "farsightedness" of the deal, another camp was questioning whether the merger was driven by commercial considerations at all. David Snoddy, a financial analyst at Jardine Fleming Securities in Tokyo, was quick to describe the leaking of the news - a week before the official announcement - as "the short-term part of the finance ministry's Tokyo-Mitsubishi plan". Despite the partners' claims to be creating the world's first megabank, many analysts believe that to call it a bank at all is a misnomer. They see it rather as a giant vacuum cleaner, assembled by the Ministry of Finance to hoover up some of the trillions of yen in bad debts undermining the Japanese financial system. INSET: ... or the world's greatest bank?.

This article focuses on Chase Bank's investment banking operations in Japan. Chase has placed considerable strategic emphasis behind its investment banking activities in Japan because of the Japanese markets increasing attractiveness to overseas borrowers. Another important reason is that more Japanese corporations have started to look beyond their own domestic capital markets to overseas markets such as the Swiss francs to finance their international expansion. In Japan, Bank's investment operations are headed by senior managing director Hasan Askari. Askari and his team are able to offer a complete range of investment banking products and services. The most recent addition to Chase Japan's capabilities, a trading and distribution capability through securities trading license awarded to LM Securities earlier this year, supports the investment banking thrust. The Chase Investment banking arm had already moved to establish itself as a leader in a number of fields particularly those of leasing, private placements and Eurocommercial paper. INSET: Hasan Askari..

Shinsei Bank launched the third transaction in its Hydra series in Japan in March 2004 with a ¥73.5 billion deal. Hydra III does not differ significantly from the previous two deals in the series. Rather it underscores the durability of the structure Shinsei has put in place. The bank has plans to launch Hydra IV in fiscal 2004. Underlying the Hydra III notes was a range of housing mortgages sourced from five entities. These included two regional banks, a life insurer and a non-bank. All loans were performing. The deal included three tranches, the largest being ¥67.6 billion and rated triple-A by all three international rating agencies. The novelty in this series is in its structure, which involves a two-tiered system with multiple waterfalls to protect the cashflow of the underlying assets from cross-contamination. Shinsei placed the paper privately, targeting investors who ranged from the very large institutions to regional banks. According to Dan Shireman, head of capital markets at Shinsei, the marketing of the deal was relatively straightforward. The Hydra series is becoming more and more accepted by investors. Spreads were tighter this time with three times oversubscription.

Offers a look at the condition of Bank of Japan after its decision to end the zero interest-rate policy. Long-term benefits of the decision; Why bankruptcy may have no impact on the yen and financial markets; Link between corporate profitability and the yen.

Barclays was looking to sell two tranches of callable senior debt in the yen market this week, following a similar total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC) eligible offering from HSBC in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides data concerning international euro-denominated bonds launched by Japan Finance Corp. for Municipal Enterprise on February 16, 1999. Rating and amount; Coupon and maturity; Issue price; Fixed re-offer price; Spread at re-offer; Lead manager; Comments of borrower and bookrunner; Market appraisal.

Announces the return of Thailand to the international bond markets by January 1999, with a bond guaranteed by Japan's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI). Details on the offering; Comments from bankers about the issue; Information about the bond markets.

The article reports that sovereign, supranational and agency (SSA) bond issuers are preparing yield-enhancing, structured Uridashi bonds for 2014 in an attempt to attract Japanese investors. Topics discussed include borrowers' reconsideration of their swap arrangements, SSA credits' consideration of two-way Credit Support Annexes (CSA), and the abandonment of previous one-way CSA documentation. The Japanese government's strategy to increase the country's monetary base is also mentioned.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is the latest Japanese bank to market a green bond in euros, with a five year senior trade. Proceeds are earmarked for renewable energy projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Takashi Toichi and Takeshi Fukatsu of Anderson Mori & Tomotsune examine recent revisions to the corporate governance regime in Japan [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]