Daiwa Capital Markets America: MOF appoints lead arrangers for 200b yen Samurai Bond

PUTRAJAYA: The Finance Ministry (MOF) has appointed Mizuho Bank (Malaysia) Bhd, HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd and Daiwa Capital Markets Limited (in partnership with Affin Hwang Investment Bank) as the lead arrangers to raise the Samurai Bond, amounting up to 200 billion yen (RM7.6 billion) for the government.Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the appointments were made after six out of the 27 proposals received by the MOF by Nov 2, 2018, were shortlisted."The final decision was made after MOF was convinced that these three were the best institutions which have the necessary experience, expertise and most importantly, conviction and faith in the Malaysian economy, to ensure that we will enjoy the lowest possible cost of funds," he said in a statement today.The Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) will be guaranteeing the bond as part of a government-to-government arrangement.This will allow the Malaysian government to pay all-inclusive indicative coupon rates of less than 0.65% per annum.Lim said the bond is expected to be raised in the next few months and he will be handling the entire bond issuance in his capacity as Finance Minister and as per the directive of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.On that note, he will also be leading a Malaysian delegation to Tokyo in February to meet all the relevant investors to ensure a successful bond-raising exercise."The issuance of this 'Samurai' bond is a testament to the confidence the Japanese government has in the leadership of our Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and a mark of the intimate relationship between the two countries," said Lim."We would like to voice our thanks and appreciation towards the Japanese government for providing the guarantee for the bond, as well as to the Japanese Ambassador Dr Makio Miyagawa for his invaluable assistance and contribution towards ensuring a smooth negotiation exercise," he added.