Its a sad state of the world where investors get “excited” about a zero percent bond.
(Bloomberg) — A 0.0000148% yield drew strong demand for a bond offering in Japan, as investors clamor for safe debt amid the pandemic even if it pays them next to nothing.
Japan Student Services Organization priced 30 billion yen ($278 million) of two-year social bonds on Friday with a coupon of 0.001% and a price of 100.002 yen, which equates to the near-zero yield. Orders totaled about 2.5 times the amount sold, according to people familiar with the matter.
Japan has long been home to striking examples of how investors will grab at whatever yield they can find on safer securities, a trend that has gone global and been intensified by monetary easing to cushion economies from the economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The securities from Jasso, an independent administrative agency that offers student loans, are rated AA+ by Rating & Investment Information.
Jasso’s bonds drew strong demand from investors who are raising their holdings of environmental, social and governance assets. Buyers ranged from pension funds, banks, shinkin banks and foreign investors, according to the people familiar, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.
The organization has a history of notable debt deals. It priced Japan’s first minus-yield agency bond last year, when it sold a note with a coupon of 0.001% and a price of 100.003 yen, working out to a yield of around minus 0.0005%.
It is not that surprising since 2-year Japanese Government Bond yields remain in negative territory, as do JGB of maturities of 10-years or less.
