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J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>
The 'JIN' J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>
A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>
in Japan.<br>
Issue No. 503 Thursday March 12, 2009, Tokyo<br>
<br>
In these post-Lehman days, it's interesting to see that one form of<br>
debt security is gaining in popularity. Donor-backed bonds for<br>
children's vaccines are giving their investors a warm, fuzzy feeling -<br>
and that's not just from their monetary returns.<br>
<br>
The UK-based non-profit International Finance Facility for<br>
Immunisation (IFFIm) has continued to raise cash at a time when<br>
investors remain extremely wary of debt. On March 2, HSBC started<br>
offering its UK customers the fund's vaccine bonds as a five-year<br>
savings plan with 16-percent returns. Together, the governments of<br>
France, Norway, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the UK and South Africa have<br>
pledged $5.3 billion over the next 20 years to repay investors.<br>
<br>
This comes following the announcement that the fund raised the<br>
equivalent of $429 million in an offering to Japanese retail<br>
investors. The largest tranche was in the South African rand, 3.17<br>
billion or the equivalent of $310 million (at the time the money was<br>
raised). The rest of the transaction was made in Australian and New<br>
Zealand dollars. The issue, made by Daiwa Securities SMBC, offered a<br>
coupon of 6.26 percent on the rand tranche, 2.65 percent on the kiwi<br>
dollar tranche and 2.6 percent on Aussie dollar tranche.<br>
<br>
This issuance came a year after the funds first "uridashi" bonds were<br>
a hit in Japan. The first issuance happened in a lot more favorable<br>
conditions, but now Japan's retail bond market, along with the<br>
world's, has shown that people are willing to invest in a program that<br>
they believe will a) get them a monetary return and b) a social<br>
return.<br>
<br>
The fund is another example of how charity organizations are using<br>
capitalist principles to produce effective results for humanitarian<br>
causes. All profits from the fund go the Geneva-based GAVI Alliance<br>
which then uses the money to immunize children in 70 developing<br>
countries. The children are vaccinated against easily preventable<br>
diseases such as polio, hepatitis B, yellow fever and tetanus.<br>
<br>
When Dr Muhammad Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in<br>
the creation of microcredit through the Grameen Bank project, the<br>
world began to take notice of how mutually beneficial (from a monetary<br>
point of view) investment projects can actually be, as well as being<br>
more effective in combating poverty.<br>
<br>
By allowing capitalism to work in its natural way, organizations such<br>
as IFFIm and Grameen Bank are able to raise large amounts of funds for<br>
people in developing countries. More importantly, the funds are being<br>
put to use effectively. I remember when the Central Government<br>
announced it would provide 415 billion yen in loans and financial<br>
assistance worth 260 billion yen for African development at the last<br>
TICAD (Tokyo International Conference of African Development). One<br>
government official lamented to me the stupidity of the move, saying<br>
how now they had to figure out how to spend all the money, rather than<br>
doing it the other way round - identifying the needs and then<br>
providing the amount of money required.<br>
<br>
Initiatives such as micro-financing and donor-backed bonds are<br>
providing blueprints for those looking to raise capital for aid.<br>
Meanwhile, investors are still willing to buy into the debt with an<br>
eye to decent returns, even in the current risk-averse climate. It's<br>
encouraging to see.<br>
<br>
One last thing worth mentioning is the age bracket IFFIm's uridashi<br>
bonds seem to be resonating with. At a recent seminar held by Daiwa<br>
Securities SMBC, the majority of the audience were elderly. A Dow<br>
Jones report stated that the majority of the investors in the 2008<br>
issuance were also elderly - 65 percent. It's a growing market and a<br>
perfect fit for IFFIm - investors with a good deal of money who are<br>
looking to give something back, socially.<br>
<br>
In a climate where most are watching their money cautiously after<br>
seeing hard fought-for investments washed away by the demise of<br>
markets worldwide, the success of the recent issue of vaccine bonds is<br>
reassuring.<br>
<br>
Michael Condon<br>
Editor-in-chief<br>
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<br>
Our Entrepreneur Handbook Seminar is obviously filling a<br>
need in the community right now, as many people look at<br>
their employers and see the writing on the wall. We had a<br>
sell-out audience of 35, and still more people wanting to<br>
attend.<br>
So, we have decided to re-run the seminar this<br>
month for those people unable to make it last month.<br>
The new date will be Saturday March 21.<br>
<br>
Details will be posted on the website shortly, at:<br>
<a href="http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar" target="_blank">http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar</a><br>
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