International bonds can be divided into different categories from different perspectives, and the main categories are described below.
1, Foreign bonds and Eurobonds
A foreign bond is a bond issued by a borrower in a country other than its own and denominated in the currency of the country where it is issued. Foreign bonds are traditional international financial market operations that have existed for centuries, and their issuance must be approved by the government of the country in which they are issued and are governed by the financial laws of that country. Foreign bonds issued in the United States (US dollars) are known as US bonds; foreign bonds issued in Japan (Japanese yen) are known as Samurai bonds.
Eurobonds. Eurobonds are bonds issued by the borrower in a country other than the country in which the coupon currency of the bond is issued or in the offshore international financial markets of that country. Eurobonds are one of the three main types of business in the European money market, and therefore their issuance does not need to be governed by any national financial laws.
2, Public bonds and private bonds
Public bonds are bonds issued to the general public and can be listed and traded publicly on stock exchanges. The issuance of public bonds must be rated by an internationally recognised credit rating agency and the borrower must make his or her circumstances known to the public.
A private bond is a bond issued privately to a limited number of investors. These bonds are issued in smaller amounts, have shorter maturities, cannot be publicly traded and have a high coupon rate; however, the issue price is low to protect the interests of investors. Private placement bonds are flexible and generally do not require credit rating agencies to rate them, nor do they require the issuer to make itself known to the public, and the issuance procedures are simpler.
3, General bonds convertible bonds and bonds with warrants
General bonds are bonds issued in accordance with the general principal and interest repayment method of bonds, including government bonds, financial bonds and corporate bonds, etc. It is relative to the new varieties of bonds such as convertible bonds and bonds with equity warrants, which are collectively called "bonds linked to equity".
Convertible bonds are bonds that can be converted into corporate shares. When issued, these bonds give investors the right to convert the bonds into shares of the enterprise at their face value after a certain period of time, becoming shareholders of the enterprise and enjoying the dividends from the shares. Most of these bonds are issued by large enterprises, and in recent years the international bond market has seen a rapid development in convertible corporate bonds.
A corporate bond with warrants is a bond that gives the right to buy shares in the borrowing company. Once an investor has purchased such a bond, he or she has the right of first refusal to purchase the shares of the enterprise when it increases its capital, and can also obtain a discount on the initial issue price of the shares. Most of the issuers of such bonds are also large enterprises.
4, Fixed rate bonds Floating rate bonds and non-interest bearing bonds
