Clifford Chance (CC) and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune have advised HSBC on the issuance of $1.7bn (£1.04bn) in yen-denominated bonds, writes The Asian Lawyer.

The so-called 'samurai' bonds – yen-denominated debt floated in Japan by a non-Japanese issuer – comprised a $1.3bn (£802m) fixed-rate tranche and a $434m (£267m) floating-rate tranche, each with a five-year term.

The issue is the largest since Citigroup floated $2.3bn (£1.4bn) three-year samurai bonds in 2008, months before US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, defaulting on $2.4bn (£1.48bn) of samurai bonds. HSBC made smaller issuances in 2009 and 2010.

HSBC was advised by CC, with a team led by Tokyo partners Reiko Sakimura and Eiichi Kanda. The London-based law firm previously advised HSBC as underwriter to the Government of Malaysia's $1.3bn sukuk al-ijara (Islamic asset-backed bonds) issue last year.

In 2009, CC also advised HSBC as underwriter to a renminbi-denominated bond issuance in Hong Kong by its subsidiary HSBC Bank (China).

The underwriters – HSBC Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, and Nomura Securities – were advised by leading Japanese law firm Anderson Mori.

The Asian Lawyer is a US affiliate title of Legal Week.