Sharp Default Odds Seen at 94.9% as Panasonic Cut: Japan Credit
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Sharp Corp.’s bond risk is signaling a 94.9 percent chance of default in five years as the yen near postwar highs swells losses at Japanese electronics companies, prompting Standard & Poor’s to cut Panasonic Corp.’s rating.
The cost of insuring 1 billion yen ($12.4 million) of Sharp’s debt for five years rose by 125 million yen in the past month to 680 million yen in advance and 10 million yen annually, according to data provider CMA. Credit-default swaps of Panasonic and Sony Corp. have also surged, with contracts pricing in a non-payment risk of about 30 percent. Those for South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. were little changed in the period, the data show.