Slovakia has raised JPY 29.8bn (EUR 233.6mn) from the sale of two yen-denominated government bond issues on the Japanese market, Webnoviny.sk reported, quoting information from the Slovak finance ministry’s Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL). Slovakia sold JPY 25.6bn worth of notes, which bear an annual coupon of 0.72% and mature on June 25, 2016. It sold also JPY 4.2bn worth of 0.99%-coupon bonds with maturity on June 25, 2018. The issues attracted interest from various investors, including banks, life insurance companies, asset management companies and other institutions.

The Slovak Samurai bond was the first since 1998, when the country sold JPY 15bn in 3-year notes. It is in line with the government’s debt diversification strategy away from euro-denominated debt that was started in 2012 with the aim to avoid a funding crisis like the one it suffered at the end of 2011. Last year, Slovakia sold on the international markets EUR 1bn in 2017 bonds, USD 1.5bn in 10-year U.S. dollar-denominated government bonds and more than EUR 900mn of Swiss franc and Czech koruna denominated bonds. This year, the country has sold CHF 575mn (EUR 467mn) in a dual-tranche bond issue denominated in Swiss francs and EUR 2.75bn in two euro-denominated bonds on the international markets.

Slovakia, which joined the EU in 2004 and the eurozone in 2009, is rated A with a stable outlook by Standard & Poor's, A2 with a negative outlook by Moody's and A+ with a stable outlook by Fitch.