Sri Lanka’s Central Bank is making final arrangements to issue US$500 million in samurai bonds Sri Lanka’s Central Bank, marking the country’s first foray into the Japanese market.
The government intends to issue a bond up to about 60 billion Japanese yen in a benchmark size single tranche with a fixed coupon of 10-year maturity as its first Samurai bond issuance, the Central Bank’s RFP notice revealed.
The cabinet of ministers has approved the proposal to appoint lead managers to launch Sri Lanka’s first-ever yen-denominated Samurai bond issuance in Japan.
In this perspective, JPY denominated bonds for benchmark size issuances will be exercisable in single or multiple tranches with competitive fixed coupons and in medium to long term maturities..
The year began with Sri Lanka securing $2.4 billion from the overseas bond market, which helped lift its foreign reserves to $8 billion. By the end of October, however, they had fallen to $7.8 billion, according to the latest data from the central bank.
But Sri Lanka may have few options in navigating the looming debt crisis, Dr.Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor of the Central Bank, warned at a public forum this month. “There’s a clear path that one has to follow. If one deviates, then we won’t be able to raise money and we will face a risk of severe austerity,” he said. “I mean, it’s basically a Greece-like scenario.”
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