TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) – Japanese company Nissay Asset Management Corp is buying more US treasury bills, Chinese government debt and credit funds as the coronavirus epidemic is expected to put pressure on central banks to loosen monetary policy.
Nissay Bets World Markets Will Wind Again After Epidemic Economic Slowdown Appears in Data from China and Other Countries, Toshinobu Chiba, the Company’s Senior Fixed Income Portfolio Manager said Thursday.
Nissay buys three to seven year US Treasuries and hedges currency risk on the futures market, said Chiba.
The yen is expected to rally against the dollar as the United States Federal Reserve, which surprised investors with a 50 basis point drop on Tuesday, has more leeway to ease its policy than the Bank of Japan, said Chiba.
Nissay is also increasing its investments in Chinese government bonds as well as extending terms, he said.
In the United States, Nissay wants to increase its exposure to corporate debt and is trying to acquire newly issued credit funds, according to Chiba.
The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in China at the end of last year has become a major threat to the global economic outlook, as it has spread to dozens of countries and killed more than 3,000 .
Travel and manufacturing restrictions to curb the spread of the virus are causing an economic downturn that has shaken financial markets.
Nissay Asset Management had 13.01 billion yen ($ 121.21 billion) in assets under management at the end of March 2019. ($ 1 = 107.3300 yen) (Stanley White report. Edited by Gerry Doyle)
