THE United States Government-sponsored Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac, will launch its first global notes in July, raising US$1.5 billion with a five-year bond.
Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation established by Congress in 1970 to provide a continuous flow of funds to mortgage lenders.
Traditionally a major user of the US capital market, Freddie Mac intends to diversify its sources of funding through the global notes.
Global notes are US-denominated securities offered simultaneously in the US, Europe, Asia and elsewhere, facilitating 24-hour trading.
Freddie Mac representatives are in Asia this week to meet with potential investors. Cities visited outside Japan included Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore.
''Structuring this bond to appeal to international investors enables us to widen the market for Freddie Mac debt securities beyond the US, and begins a new long-term commitment to the global bond markets on the part of Freddie Mac,'' said Paul Peterson, senior vice-president of corporate finance at Freddie Mac.
