Government Issues 70 Billion Yen Samurai Bonds... Average Interest Rate 0.7%

On the 7th, the government issued 70 billion yen (approximately 500 million USD) in yen-denominated foreign exchange stabilization bonds, known as "Samurai Bonds." This is the first time that foreign exchange stabilization bonds have been issued in yen overseas.

The yen-denominated foreign exchange stabilization bonds were issued with maturities of 3, 5, 7, and 10 years. The average issuance interest rate (weighted average rate considering the issuance scale by maturity) was around 0.70%.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance explained that, amid the global high interest rate environment, issuing foreign exchange stabilization bonds in yen with low interest rates focused on reducing the cost of raising foreign exchange reserves and increasing the diversity of the currency composition of foreign exchange reserves. They also self-assessed that the large-scale investment orders from various global investors served as another opportunity to confirm the high external credibility of the Korean economy.

The government plans to decide on the issuance and timing of dollar-denominated foreign exchange stabilization bonds within this year's issuance limit of 2.7 billion USD, considering future market conditions.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho announced the plan to issue yen-denominated foreign exchange stabilization bonds during the Korea-Japan Finance Ministers' Meeting held in Tokyo, Japan, in June.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.