Bonds

Takaichi vs. Ueda: While concerns over "the Trump tariffs" have somewhat eased, domestic politics are now creating complexities. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Ken Suzuki, Seiko Ota and Akira Kodaka)
Trading Asia

BOJ early rate hike bets recede amid potential Trump, Takaichi impacts

Volatile yen and fragile US economy weigh on Japanese central bank decision

27 October 2025
The selection of Satsuki Katayama, center of middle row, as finance minister by new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, bottom center, has eased investor concerns about fiscal expansion.
Bonds

Ultralong Japan bond yields cool as Takaichi allays investors' fiscal fears

New leadership doesn't seem poised for undisciplined spending, analysts say

24 October 2025
Japanese companies are shifting toward issuing more short- and medium-term bonds over previously preferred long-term ones. (Photo by Konosuke Urata)
Bonds

Japan companies issue shorter dated bonds as rate hike looms

Record $16.7bn, or 70% of quarter total are short or medium

23 October 2025
Michio Saito thinks that interest rates are unlikely to come down for the time being. (Photo by Shintaro Ino)
Bonds

Japan household investment in JGBs needed: former Finance Ministry director

Michio Saito says bond market not worried about Takaichi as prime minister

21 October 2025
Investor anxiety has started to ease as the odds seem to favor LDP chief Sanae Takaichi becoming the country's new leader. (Photo by Shintaro Ino)
Equities

Japan stocks soar 3% to record high as 'Takaichi trade' reboots

LDP leader closer to becoming prime minister; US credit fears ease

20 October 2025
Wealthy investors in Asia, sitting on piles of cash built up since the pandemic, are looking to hedge their bets, shifting their assets out of U.S. equities and into the Chinese stock market and gold. (Nikkei illustration)
Trading Asia

Wealthy Asians raise exposure to China, fixed-income, gold as trade war rages

Region is home to the world's second-largest group of ultrawealthy investors

20 October 2025
Analysts are concerned that a tapering off of BOJ underwriting could lead to a lack of JGB buyers. (Photo by Miki Kamiyama) 
Bonds

As BOJ buys less, JGB yields face upward pressure on oversupply

Bonds bound for the private sector seen growing by $400bn, raising concerns

17 October 2025
The Bank of Japan has moved to taper its Japanese government bond holdings, which has contributed to the rising yields of long-dated JGBs. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Bonds

Japan's next PM faces task of finding buyers for $520bn in JGBs

Japanese banks lack capacity to pick up slack as BOJ winds down purchases

11 October 2025
Market moves reflect investor expectations that new Liberal Democratic Party president Sanae Takaichi would likely delay the central bank’s next rate hike and adopt an expansionary fiscal policy. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Marina Inoue and Akira Kodaka)
Bonds

Japan long-end bond selloff seen rocking global markets

30-year JGB yields looking 'increasingly more attractive' than Treasurys: Swiss bank CIO

7 October 2025
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. raised over $5 billion with its listing in Hong Kong in May. (Photo by Kensaku Ihara)
Markets

China, India IPOs help lift global stock, bond fundraising to 4-year high

Bond offerings dip on tariff uncertainty, but impact may be temporary

7 October 2025
Sanae Takaichi's victory in Saturday's Liberal Democratic Party presidential election rocked markets as investors returned from the weekend. (Photo by Hazumu Urushiyama)
Equities

Japan stocks hit record high, yen falls on pro-stimulus Takaichi's victory

JGB yield curve steepens; investors bet on new LDP leader's economic policies

6 October 2025
On Sept. 15, there were 389 billion yuan ($54.6 billion) worth of panda bonds outstanding, surpassing the figure for samurai bonds, which foreign companies issue in Japan. (Illustration by Hiroko Aida)
Trading Asia

China's panda bond market gives Beijing more political punch

Growing numbers of Belt and Road countries consider increasing their yuan debt

6 October 2025
Nidec is awaiting the results of a third-party probe into suspected accounting irregularities at a Chinese subsidiary. (Photo by Arisa Moriyama)
Companies

Japan's Nidec braces for potential Moody's ratings downgrade

Suspected accounting irregularities push up risk premium on motor maker's bonds

4 October 2025
New measures seek to deepen international participation in China's bond market via Hong Kong.
Bonds

China unveils new steps to boost offshore yuan market in Hong Kong

PBOC outlines measures to deepen cross-border bond investment, expand hedging tools

25 September 2025
Japan's Ministry of Finance has proposed reductions in government bonds with super-long maturities, shifting to shorter maturity bonds for the same overall issuance volume. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Economy

Japan Finance Ministry proposes cut to super-long JGB issuance

Rare second mid-year reduction comes amid political uncertainty, buyer shortage

25 September 2025
Japanese fixed-income buyers are now thinking with "more of a global perspective than they might have done in the past,” according to Aviva Investors' Fraser Lundie. (Source photos by Aviva Investors)
Interview

Japanese institutions move beyond yield hunting: Aviva Investors

Short-dated, high-quality credit preferred over developed market sovereign bonds

23 September 2025
Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, left, is seen as more likely to improve Japan's public finances, while former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, center, favors expansionary fiscal policy. Analysts expect a muted market reaction if Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, right, wins. (Source photos by Ken Suzuki, Uichiro Kasai)
Japan leadership race

Japan financial markets weigh impact of LDP leadership race

Koizumi seen buoying yen, while Takaichi would provide potential tailwind for stocks

23 September 2025
After a two-month policy vacuum, the new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party is likely to focus on moving the legislative agenda forward instead of contemplating a snap general election. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai) 
Japan leadership race

Japan ruling party kicks off leadership race: 5 things to know

Election of LDP leader likely to become PM, with coalition expansion in mind

22 September 2025
Tencent Holdings has said it plans to put more than 10% of its 2025 sales into AI-related investment. (Photo by Itsuro Fujino)
Bonds

Tencent serves up first 'dim sum' bonds to fund AI investment

Chinese tech group's $1.3bn offering comes amid surge in capital spending

17 September 2025
Alibaba says it will use a convertible bond to pay for expanding data centers, upgrading technology and improving services to meet demand for cloud computing.
Bonds

Alibaba to raise $3.2bn via convertible bond to fund cloud growth

Chinese e-tailer plans to expand data centers with biggest bond of its kind this year

11 September 2025
The old rule of thumb that LDP presidential elections signal investors to buy in the stock market may be changing now that the party has lost its majority in both houses of the Diet. (Photo by Shintaro Ino)
Equities

Japan leadership race spurs stock buying, but rule of thumb may change

Political dynamics shift from past rally-inducing LDP presidential elections

10 September 2025
Japanese wage growth is barely keeping pace with inflation. (Photo by Yutaka Miyaguchi)
Japan leadership race

Japan's next leader on collision course with inflation, interest rates

Bond market jittery over government spending, limiting room for stimulus

9 September 2025
While Washington's erratic trade policy had prompted the BOJ to pause rate hikes, the uncertainty has gradually receded. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images and Satoko Kawasaki)
Trading Asia

Japan's government bond yields continue to face upward pressure

Expectations for BOJ rate hike and political uncertainty are pushing yields higher

8 September 2025
The national flags of Japan, Kenya and China. The African country is turning to the two Asian economies for local-currency bond issues. (Source photos by Kosaku Mimura, AP and Mizuho Miyazaki)
Bonds

Kenya turns to Japan's samurai, China's panda bonds for financing

Under fiscal constraints, African nation seeks low-cost funds via Asian competitors

22 August 2025
Fujifilm Holdings is one company that opted to issue only straight bonds instead of ESG offerings so far this year. (Photo by Kohei Yamada)
Bonds

Japan ESG bond issuance falls 8% in Trump's shadow

Second year of decline also coincides with anticipated interest rate hikes

21 August 2025
Dollar-yen basis swap rates have fallen to their lowest levels since early 2022, making greenbacks cheaper for Japanese investors. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Markets

US rate cut speculation drags dollar-yen basis swap to 3-year low

Lower demand for greenbacks relative to yen reduces costs for Japan investors

14 August 2025
Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund is one of the largest public pension funds in the world. (Illustration by Nikkei)
Bonds

Japan pension whale GPIF reins in bond yields -- but for how long?

Fund's portfolio allocation for bonds currently above stated investment limit

13 August 2025
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone and Japan Tobacco are among the Japanese companies that have come out with big foreign-currency bond offerings in 2025. (Source photos by Nikkei)
Bonds

Japan foreign-currency corporate debt offerings hit record high

SoftBank, NTT, Kioxia tap into robust investor demand for bonds

2 August 2025
The coupon on 10-year floating-rate Japanese government bonds for individuals topped 1% in July, its first time in that territory since 2008. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Bonds

Japan retail investors drawn to JGBs with returns at 17-year high

Households play growing role in absorbing supply as institutions hold off on buying

31 July 2025