Guest guest Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Bill and Melinda Gates again. Vaccine bonds for sale!!!So far, just to test their poisons in poor countries, noblesse oblige!==============http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8267907Vaccine bonds on sale for Japan investors in Feb Reuters, Friday January 16 2009 By Charlotte CooperTOKYO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Top-rated bonds to raise $250 million or more to help vaccinate children in poor countries will go on sale for Japanese retail investors next month and could be issued in three currencies, organisers said on Friday.The International Finance Facility for Immunisation Company (IFFIm), which raises funds to support a vaccine-focused alliance including governments and UNICEF, is looking to raise at least $500 million this year, starting with Japan.After a $223 million-equivalent bond sale in Japan a year ago, IFFIm is looking to make another offering here in a mix of New Zealand and Australian dollars and South African rand, higher-yielding currencies that have been popular with retail investors."We hope it will be larger than that and will probably come in a multi-tranche structure in a variety of currencies," IFFIm Chairman Alan Gillespie told Reuters on a visit to Tokyo."We have a borrowing requirement this year of about $500 million. Half of that we will do here in this series of offerings in Tokyo and the rest we will do in the capital markets in the course of the year."The issuance in Japan is being arranged by Daiwa Securities SMBC, which said in a statement the bonds were expected to go on sale next month.Proceeds from IFFIm's bond sales go to support the work of the GAVI Alliance, a public-private partnership formerly known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation.The GAVI Alliance aims to immunise children in the poorest countries and its projects include cold-chain logistics for vaccines and stockpiling vaccines for speedy delivery when disease breaks out.Backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the alliance includes the World Health Organisation, and it offers support to 72 countries and has provided vaccines for 213 million children since its creation in 2000.IFFIm launched its first vaccine bond in 2006 with a $1 billion offering to institutional investors, and sold the equivalent of about $223 million in debt to Japanese investors a year ago, denominated in South African rand.Gillespie said fund-raising this year in other capital markets would be defined "in due course". It could include markets such as Britain and France but they would look at investor demand as the year progressed."And it's a little driven by how much we generate here. We could take up to $300 or $400 million equivalent in this market if it were available," he said.The triple-A rated bonds are back by pledges totalling $5.3 billion from Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden and South Africa, which will flow in over a 20-year period to repay the debt.Gillespie was confident the bonds would find strong interest despite difficult market conditions due to the global financial crisis, which has damaged investor confidence."Investors can get a bond which is rock solid in its credit structure. It's going to pay a fair, market rate of interest," he said."At the same time it's giving them a tremendous sense of satisfaction that their money is going to do something really good and useful." =====In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.