(April 9): Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc is planning to sell yen bonds in global markets, fuelling speculation that the billionaire is weighing more investments in Japan.

The US conglomerate mandated banks for a potential benchmark Securities and Exchange Commission-registered bond offering, according to a person familiar with the matter. The deal may come in the near future, subject to market conditions.

Berkshire Hathaway would be the first major non-financial overseas debt issuer to kick off a yen deal after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) last month scrapped the world’s last negative interest rate.

Spreads on yen-denominated bonds from both Japanese and overseas issuers have tightened to the lowest since September 2022, amid signs BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda won’t rush to hike interest rates again. The extra yield investors seek for corporate debt is about 52 basis points, down from 67 basis points a year ago.

The US company last tapped yen bond markets in November, with a ¥122 billion (US$803 million or RM3.82 billion) five-tranche deal. It’s a regular issuer of yen bonds, and often taps the market in April.

“Berkshire has issued big amounts in the past, surpassing ¥100 billion, which shows that it’s been successful in attracting a wide range of investors,” said Kazuma Ogino, a senior credit analyst at Nomura Securities Co.

Buffett said in his annual letter to investors in late February that Japanese trading companies are following investor-friendly policies, driving speculation that he may increase his stakes in these companies. Berkshire Hathaway has funded most of its current Japanese investment through yen bonds, the letter said.