Daiwa Securities launched a Y65,000 million ($607 million), five-year samurai bond issue for the treasury in Tokyo on 4 April. This is the treasury's third balance of payments borrowing in 1996.

The bonds carry an annual coupon of 5.7 per cent, higher than the price of about 5 per cent originally anticipated by the treasury.

Daiwa first received a working mandate for the bond early February (MEED 16:2:96). It was deferred into April firstly due to the formation of a new coalition government, and afterwards to allow Japanese institutions to close their 1995 books.

The treasury's first two borrowings were a Y10,000 million ($93 million), 10-year bond issue in January, and a DM 500 million ($338 million) Eurobond issue in February