Azpiazu meets with the President of the International Strategy Institute of the Japan Research Institute and with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Pedro Azpiazu, has held an institutional meeting with the former Japanese ambassador until November 2022 and current president of the International Strategy Institute of the Japan Research Institute, Kenji Hiramatsu, in which he had the opportunity to thank him personally for the facilities he has provided to strengthen ties with the Basque Country and which have enabled a wide range of joint activities to be planned for this year within the framework of the Euskadi-Japan initiative.

For his part, Hiramatsu gave a very positive review of the Bono Sostenible Euskadi (Basque Country Sustainable Bond) initiative, and highlighted the Basque raking as a guarantee of the credibility of the Basque Government for the Japanese market.

After the meeting, the Basque delegation presented the Bono Sostenible Euskadi to representatives of the Sumitomo Banking Corporation, which owns one of the three largest banks in the country, Mitsui Sumitomo Bank. Specifically, before Yoko Chivers, Senior Vice-President; Takao Fujiki, General Manager; and Yoshihiko Hirose, Director for America and Europe.

During the meeting, Azpiazu detailed the economic characteristics of the Basque Country and explained in detail the economic solvency of the Basque Government. He also explained the credibility of the Bono Sostenible Euskadi in Europe and the objective of diversifying investors, which is the reason for this roadshow in Japan.

For their part, the representatives of the Japanese entity gave a very positive review of the Basque Government’s commitment to Sustainable Human Development, and stated that this positioning makes it attractive to potential investors in Japan. They also offered their collaboration in making contact with some of its companies, with a view to expanding the Basque Country’s investor base.

The seventh issue of the “Bono Sostenible Euskadi” at the beginning of the month —€700m for ten years— was seven times oversubscribed. In fact, applications were received for €5,021m. The Basque Country has the privilege of an excellent rating awarded by the main rating agencies, which means that going to market can be a success.

The Basque Government began in 2018 with its commitment to sustainable debt issuance, and demand has always exceeded supply in all the issues made. The total amount of the seven issues of the Bono Sostenible Euskadi amounts to €4.4b.

In addition to the Minister, the Basque delegation is made up of Iñaki Barredo, Deputy Minister of Economy and European Funds; Arantza Larrauri, Director of Financial Policy; Yurdana Burgoa, Cabinet Director and Director of BTI; and Javier Arnaez, Director General of the Basque Finance Institute.