The World Bank today offered Yen 60 billion ($481 million), 5-1/8 percent, ten-year bonds through a reopening of its Fourth Daimyo Bond issue. The new bonds have the same coupon and maturity date (March 17, 1998) as that previous issue and are non-callable. They are offered at 100-5/8 for a yield of 5.04 percent on an annual basis. This is the first reopening of a public issue by a non-resident borrower in Tokyo and creates the largest yen public issue -- Yen 160 billion -- by a non-resident in that market.
It is expected that after March 17, 1989, the first interest payment date, this offering will trade as a single issue with the previously offered bonds. The bonds will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
The offering is being made through a syndicate of 22 Japanese and foreign securities firms headed by Daiwa Securities Co., Ltd. The agreements will be signed on June 2 in Tokyo.
Daimyo bonds have special features designed to enhance the domestic issue's liquidity. These include settlement of trades through international book-entry clearance systems, listing on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, and market makers in Japan having official permission to take short positions in the issue on a contract basis for up to 20 days. Further, a Daimyo issue can be reopened and enlarged by future offerings having the same maturity and coupon rate.
The World Bank has offered the previous public issue and this issue, in effect, as replacement assets to investors in the yen markets where the Bank has prepaid public issues aggregating Yen 160 billion in the last nine months.
