TOKYO -- Japanese power utilities are stepping up fundraising as high resource prices and a weak yen deplete their cash holdings, with total bond offerings this fiscal year set to rise 6% to 1.73 trillion yen ($12.4 billion).
The figure is based on fundraising targets by Japan's top eight utilities -- a group that excludes Chubu Electric Power and Chugoku Electric Power. Bonds issued by the eight that are slated to mature in fiscal 2022 total roughly 700 billion yen, according to I-N Information Systems, meaning that the companies plan to procure 2.5 times the amount in the year through March 2023.
