Turkey to launch 10-year Samurai bond

Turkey is marketing its first Japanese bond since 2012 as it looks to take advantage of attractive funding costs in the yen market. The country, rated Baa3 by Moody's, BB+ by Standard & Poor's and BBB- by Fitch, is offering the 10-year fixed-rate bond at a spread in the high 20s to 30bp area over yen offer-side swaps. Around 90 percent of the debt will be guaranteed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation under a scheme designed to attract emerging-market issuers to the local Japanese market. Turkey's last Samurai came in March 2012, when it sold a JPY 90 billion ($858 million, TL 1.849 billion) offering at 40 basis point over offer-side swaps. JBIC guaranteed that bond as well.