Deals

Japan Boosts M&A War Chest With Record Bond Sales Abroad

Borrowers lock in lowest dollar bond financing costs in decade
Access to bond markets abroad could help undertake M&A: Mizuho

Mount Fuji and buildings in the Shinjuku district are reflected on a table at an observation deck in Tokyo, Japan.Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

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By Takashi Nakamichi and Tesun Oh

January 29, 2018 at 9:00 PM UTC

Updated on

January 30, 2018 at 7:30 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Record international bond sales are helping Japanese borrowers bolster their firepower for overseas operations and acquisitions.

Companies and government entities issued an unprecedented $86.7 billion of foreign-currency notes last year, up 21.4 percent from 2016, as firms including SoftBank Group Corp. and Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. tapped debt financing to expand overseas. Sales in January are also off to their strongest start in seven years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.