ICBC Tokyo Branch has recently listed its first medium-term notes in yen on Tokyo Stock Exchange. The medium-term notes were issued in the pro-bond market for professional investors with a size of 15 billion yen and a term of three years. It is the first time that a Chinese institution has ever issued yen-denominated bonds on Tokyo Stock Exchange, marking the return of Chinese institutions to the JPY bond fund-raising market after 16 years.

The Tokyo PRO-BOND market is a new type of bond market established based on the market system targeted at professional investors, a new mechanism introduced during the revision of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act in 2008. The market adopts mechanisms commonly used in overseas markets such as program-based issue and information disclosure in English only. The program refers to the mode of issue where an issuer registers in advance the planned bond issuance limit, basic information and financial information in the Tokyo PRO-BOND market system before issuing bonds at any time within the planned limit. Prior to this, a medium-term note program worth US 4 billion of ICBC Tokyo Branch was listed and registered on the Tokyo PRO-BOND market on February 29, 2016. The 15-billion yen medium-term notes are part of the program.

An expert said that the successful issuance of ICBC’s medium-term notes in yen marks the latest breakthrough of a Chinese commercial bank in issuing yen-denominated bonds in Japan, which is highly significant in optimizing the term structure of liability for institutions of Chinese banks in Japan and strengthening impact of Chinese banks in local markets.