The Republic of Slovenia: JPY31.0bn 3yr Social Samurai bond transaction

7. 11. 2025

On Friday, 7th November 2025, the Republic of Slovenia (“Slovenia”), rated A3 (positive) by Moody’s / AA (stable) by S&P / A+ (stable) by Fitch / AA- (stable) by JCR, successfully priced a JPY31.0bn 3-year fixed rate senior unsecured bond, marking the first Samurai Bond issued by a CEE sovereign this year. Following a highly successful inaugural Social Samurai offering last year, Slovenia has established a strong footprint in the Japanese market. Daiwa, Mizuho, Nomura and SMBC Nikko jointly led the offering.

Map of Japan surrounded by coins and banknotes of the yen currency. — Author Depositphotos

During the week of 27^th October, Slovenia conducted a series of virtual one-on-one investor meetings as well as a group investor call with Japanese accounts, laying the foundation for the transaction’s eventual success.

On 30^th October, after confirming a stable market backdrop, the JLMs commenced 2 days of soft sounding. On the back of robust feedback received throughout soft-sounding, the JLMs launched 2 days of official marketing from 5^th November, with price guidance set at TONA MS+19–21bps for the single 3-year tranche.

Final pricing was set at TONA MS+20bps, the midpoint of guidance, supported by strong demand from both onshore and offshore accounts. Robust investor interest and positive book momentum reflected Slovenia’s solid credit profile and sustained investor engagement. Total demand approached JPY50bn, with the issue size set at JPY31.0bn, the top end of Slovenia’s target range.

Following final allocation, the split between Japanese onshore and offshore accounts was 57% and 43 %, respectively. Among onshore investors, city banks, asset managers and regional cooperatives were key participants.

The offering ultimately priced at 1:21 CET on 7^th November with the following transaction parameters: 3-year JPY 31.0bn notes with a coupon of 1.24% / reoffer spread of TONA MS+20bps / reoffer yield of 1.24% / reoffer price of 100.00%. For the purpose of hedging against the movement of the exchange rate of the Japanese Yen against the Euro, a currency swap was implemented in the entire value of the issue.

Slovenia’s Sustainability Bond Framework was developed in accordance with the ICMA Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles and Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2021. Proceeds from the Social Bonds will be exclusively used to (re)finance eligible expenditures falling within the scope of Eligible Social Project Categories. The Second Party Opinion on the framework was provided by Sustainalytics and is available on the Ministry of Finance’s website.

Slovenia approaches the Samurai market from a strategic perspective, viewing this market not solely as a funding source but also as a platform to deepen engagement with Japanese investors. Given an advanced funding programme, Slovenia‘s ultimate goal of this transaction was to maintain a visible presence in the Japanese market at a cost-efficient pricing, while the total issuance volume was a secondary objective. Therefore, the issuer decided to go ahead with a single tranche and a capped issue size as well. The Samurai market forms part of Slovenia’s broader funding strategy with the aim to be present in this market on a regular – ideally annual – basis.