Wal-Mart Sells 1st Retailer Samurai Debt in 29 Years

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to sell 60 billion yen ($561 million) of samurai bonds in Japan, the first such issue by a retailer in 29 years, taking advantage of lower borrowing costs.

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Companies from General Electric Capital Corp. to the Royal Bank of Canada are raising money in Japan as credit conditions tighten in the U.S. and Europe, pushing up borrowing costs. Sales of samurai notes have risen 45 percent to 1.86 trillion yen so far this year and posted the biggest increase in first-half issuance since at least 1999, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.