These facts (and figures) are extracted from Euromoney magazine (March 2009 issue) :
1 trillion the yen value ($10.6 billion) of the corporate bonds the Bank of Japan says it will buy to try to inject liquidity into the stagnating market. The bank will buy bonds rated A or better held by banks in an effort to increase lending from financial institutions.
671 billion the combined dollar value of the economic stimulus packages announced by leading Asian nations so far this year, counting China ($586 billion), Korea ($43 billion), Taiwan ($17 billion), Australia ($11 billion), India ($9 billion) and Indonesia ($5 billion). More announcements are expected within the next few months, with Japan in particular reported to be considering a plan worth several hundred billion dollars.
19.5 billion the combined dollar value of the mining assets ($12.3 billion) and convertible bonds ($7.2 billion) that Chinalco announced it would buy from Rio Tinto, making it the largest outbound M&A transaction by a Chinese company ever. The previous holder of the record? Step forward Chinalco, which last year together with Alcoa bought $14.3 billion-worth of Rio Tinto stocks.
1.4 billion the dollar value of Kirin’s bid for 49% of San Miguel Brewery in the Philippines, announced on February 20. The Japanese drinks company’s approach is the largest outbound deal from Japan so far this year, and the second largest ever from the country’s food and beverage sector after Kirin’s $2.6 billion acquisition of National Foods in 2007.
12.7% the annualized rate at which Japan’s GDP is shrinking, according to fourth-quarter data from 2008. The country’s new finance minister, Kaoru Yosano, will have to face the grim situation without a stiff drink: his predecessor, Shoichi Nakagawa, stepped down after denying allegations he had been drunk during a G7 meeting in Rome.
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