Itochu sells Japan’s first orange bonds for gender equality
The Japanese trading house raises 15.2 billion yen from the debt sale
ITOCHU Corp sold Japan’s first so-called orange bonds to fund gender equality projects, and data indicated there was strong investor demand for these ESG notes.
The Japanese trading house raised 15.2 billion yen (S$132.5 million) from the debt sale, more than the initial plan for a 10 billion yen offering, according to lead manager Daiwa Securities Co.
In another sign of firm demand for the still-rare securities, the three-year notes priced at a spread of 17 basis points (bps) over government debt, tighter than the 19 bps Itochu paid on similar-maturity notes issued in April. In contrast, Japanese company bond spreads have widened overall since April, according to a Bloomberg index.
Orange is the United Nations’ signature colour representing the campaign for ending violence against women. World leaders listed gender equality as one of 17 global goals set in 2015 to be achieved by 2030. The deal follows the Orange Bond Initiative, launched in 2022 by Singapore-based Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) as part of a global finance push for equality.
IIX, which raises funds for sustainability projects, has sold a series of orange bonds, including a US$50 million deal in 2022 and US$100 million one the following year. Indonesia’s Permodalan Nasional Madani also issued multi-tranche rupiah orange bonds, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
Social impact bonds, a broad category of debt that includes financing to support women’s rights, saw global issuance peak in 2021 at US$213.1 billion, and totalled US$143.5 billion last year, Bloomberg-compiled data showed.
Proceeds from the Itochu notes will fund workplace programmes to help employees thrive in the long term, as well as investments in companies offering gender-positive products and services, Daiwa said.
No previous environment, social and governance debt deal in Japan has targeted gender inequality so directly, said Akane Enatsu, head of the Nomura Research Center of Sustainability. Still, she said Japan ranks last among the G7 economies in an index of global gender gap, and that empowering women is “indispensable” for a nation with an ageing and shrinking population.
Japan ranked 118th out of 148 economies in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 gender gap list that measures areas like economic opportunities, educational attainment, health and political empowerment. BLOOMBERG
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