Mitsubishi Estate bonds lead gains on Olympic hopes

[TOKYO] Mitsubishi Estate Co's bonds gained the most in Japan this year on expectations of a windfall from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games for the nation's biggest developer.

The 2 per cent return compares with a 1.9 per cent increase for Central Japan Railway Co, the second-best performer, and a 0.8 per cent average for Japanese corporate bonds, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BOAML) index data show. Sovereign debt advanced 1.56 per cent and companies worldwide gained 5.34 per cent.

The International Olympic Committee forecasts Tokyo's first summer games since 1964 will attract 152 billion yen (S$1.85 billion) in investment into the capital's properties. The nation's top three developers, including Sumitomo Realty & Development Co and Mitsui Fudosan Co, reported the highest combined annual profit since 2008 as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stimulus programme boosted land prices in Japan's three largest metropolitan areas for the first time in six years.