Starting news article english 10 January 2013

Clifford Chance advises ING on the largest issue of JPY bonds in Japan

Tokyo, Amsterdam: Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised ING Bank N.V. ("ING") on its sale of three-year bonds in Japan, raising JPY175.9 billion ($2.1 billion) in aggregate. This was the largest issue of JPY bonds in Japan by a foreign issuer in 2012, and one of the biggest ever fundraisings by a European issuer in Japan.

The bonds, comprising of a series of fixed-rate bonds and a series of floating-rate bonds both due 2015, are listed on the TOKYO PRO-BOND Market, a Japanese bond market for professional  investors operated by the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. ING was the first ever issuer to obtain a programme listing on the TOKYO PRO-BOND Market earlier this year, and this was the second drawdown for ING under the programme.

Clifford Chance acted as Japanese and Dutch legal advisers to ING in respect of the bond issues. Tokyo partners Reiko Sakimura and Eiichi Kanda were assisted by senior associate Yasuyuki Takayama and associate Yu Nimura. The Amsterdam team was led by partner Frank Graaf and assisted by counsel Jurgen van der Meer and trainee Evert van der Kaa.