Samurai bond market revives

Japan’s samurai bond market is poised to revive after a virtual shut-down since the September collapse of Lehman Brothers, as credit markets show signs of stabilising thanks partly to government guarantees on bond issues. The first bonds to be issued since September are likely to be from Australian banks Westpac and ANZ, bankers said. Although the timing is unclear, at least one issue could happen as soon as the end of January. The government-guaranteed format under which the bonds are issued make them attractive to investors searching for higher yields than Japanese government bonds with minimum risk.