(Bloomberg) -- Hungary is offering yen-denominated bonds for the first time since 2022, pushing the government closer to a limit it has imposed on the state’s foreign exchange-denominated debt.
The country opened books on a Samurai bond sale in four parts, three of them green notes, with maturities between 3 to 10 years, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. Last week, the debt management agency signaled it would issue as much as 500 million euros ($553 million) worth of Samurai bonds, Reuters reported.
Hungary stands about one percentage point away from the 30% upper limit on the ratio of foreign-currency denominated debt within the total, based on data from the debt manager. While the government isn’t expecting to return to eurobond markets soon, it has sought new sources in Asia, including loans from Chinese banks to finance infrastructure projects.
“The foreign-exchange market can still finance about 30% of the deficit in the future, but there is no intention to raise this ratio,” two officials from the debt management agency wrote in an article published on Monday on the Portfolio news website.
Hungary currently has ¥115.3 billion ($780 million) of outstanding debt in bonds denominated in the Japanese currency that were offered in 2020 and 2022. The country recently revealed it took a 1 billion euro loan from Chinese banks earlier this year.
The debt agency also took part in a wider emerging-market issuance spree at the start of the year, with a 1.5 billion euro bond and a 2.5 billion dollar note.
--With assistance from Hannah Benjamin-Cook.
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