Oversee Bond Holdings Reach Record High

The outstanding balance of Japanese government bonds held by overseas investors hit a record high of 81.61 trillion yen as of the end of June, a Bank of Japan quarterly survey showed Thursday, reflecting their appetite for the assets which are seen as relatively safe amid the European debt crisis.

The figure was up 20.0 percent from the year before, the BOJ said in a preliminary report. The outstanding balance of Japanese government bonds increased 4.2 percent from a year earlier to 940 trillion yen.

The outstanding balance of Japanese government bonds held by overseas investors accounted for 8.7 percent of total holdings, up from 8.3 percent at the end of March.

The balance of Japanese government bonds held by domestic financial institutions including banks and life insurance companies increased 4.6 percent to 616 trillion yen, the central bank said.

Meanwhile, cash and deposits held by Japanese households rose 1.8 percent to 844.12 trillion yen amid the ongoing trend for safe assets. The outstanding balance of households' financial assets including securities grew 0.1 percent to 1,515.15 trillion yen, it said.

The outstanding balance of loans by private financial institutions rose 1.3 percent to 690 trillion yen, the BOJ said.

via Mainichi