Patent Application
20080033872
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fixed rate financing instruments issued for acquiring private funds and investments, offering a dividend or partially guaranteed by third parties to issuance, i.e., personals or entities other than the issuers/grantors and buyers of the financing instruments. The invention is also related to systems, servers, methods, programs and computer-readable recording media for establishing a market for the fixed rate financing instruments, and a method for directly offering the fixed rate financing instruments on-line. In particular, the financing instruments attract private funds and investments to finance public works or projects, such as infrastructure improvement projects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Constructions and operations of public facilities such as roads and railroads, facilities for public benefits such as healthcare facilities and social benefit facilities are of great concerns of the residents who live in the related area, as they affect the basics of their life. It is difficult for them to walk or drive without decent roads. It is impossible for them to receive healthcares if there are no hospitals and other healthcare facilities when they get sick.
Therefore, those who live in an area where facilities that affect the basics of residents' life, i.e., infrastructures (basic facilities of a society) are poor try to move to another area where infrastructures are better. This creates a tendency for population concentration in big cities where those infrastructures are well established, for example, Tokyo and Osaka in case of Japan. The concentration of population causes problems such as longer commuting time, higher rents, smaller living quarters, and excessive traffic congestions.
Thus, each country of the world is planning to improve infrastructures such as roads and healthcare facilities in various regions in the country, but it is also true that the governments are experiencing severe financial tightness everywhere in the world in recent years. Thus they are having difficulties in financing public works such as infrastructure improvement projects from tax revenues alone. It is indispensable to infuse some private funds into public works such as infrastructure improvement projects in order to alleviate the burden on tax money under the current financial tightness.
There are numerous financial instruments for raising capital, as described in, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,293 to King titled “Method and Apparatus of Creating a Financial Instrument and Administering an Adjustable Rate Loan System”.
In infrastructure financing, the borrower arranges for an accepted guarantee-issuer to provide an irrevocable and unconditional guarantee in favor of a lender as beneficiary for repayment of a loan principal amount with all due interest for the loan term plus the lender's fees. The lender then provides or facilitates financing for public works projects through bond issuance and other means. As a means of acquiring private funds for investments in public works, a national or local government issues bonds. Bonds are essentially negotiable papers issued for acquiring funds from a wide range of citizens. If issuers of bonds are a national or local government or an organization related to a government, the bonds are called public bonds.
In such public bonds, there has been a type of bonds issued by a national or local government for the purpose of acquiring private funds for public works such as infrastructure improvement projects. Such bonds are called government guaranteed bonds. Government guaranteed bonds are bonds whose issuer's liabilities for the repayment of the principal and related interests are guaranteed by the pertinent government.
On the other hand, bonds whose issuers are a private enterprise are called industrial bonds. Industrial bonds include bonds related to the SPC Law (Law concerning Liquidation of Special Assets of Special Purpose Company). Bonds covered by the SPC Law are bonds related to so-called “project finance.” Bonds related to project finance are bonds issued for acquiring funds for executing a specific project. For example, if the use of the capital acquired by a bond issued in relation to the construction and operation of a commercial building to be erected in front of a railway station is specified for the project of “construction and operation of the station front building,” the bond is regarded as a bond related to the project finance and a bond related to the SPC Law. Key bond terms as shown in
In the US, bonds pay interest that can be fixed, floating or payable at maturity. Most debt securities carry an interest rate that stays fixed until maturity and is a percentage of the face (principal) amount. Typically, investors receive interest payments semiannually. For example, a $1,000 bond with an 8% interest rate will pay investors $80 a year, in payments of $40 every six months. When the bond matures, investors receive the full face amount of the bond-$1,000. The interest rate on a floating-rate bond is reset periodically in line with changes in a base interest-rate index, such as the rate on Treasury bills. Some bonds have no periodic interest payments. Instead, the investor receives one payment—at maturity—that is equal to the purchase price (principal) plus the total interest earned, compounded semiannually at the (original) interest rate. Known as zero-coupon bonds, they are sold at a substantial discount from their face amount. For example, a bond with a face amount of $20,000 maturing in 20 years might be purchased for about $5,050. At the end of the 20 years, the investor will receive $20,000. The difference between $20,000 and $5,050 represents the interest, based on an interest rate of 7%, which compounds automatically until the bond matures.
PFI (public finance initiative; improvement of social funds using private funds) is intended to efficiently and effectively improve social funds by means of promoting constructions, maintenances and operations (including planning thereof) of public facilities utilizing private funds, management capabilities and technological capabilities so as to contribute to healthy development of national economy (Article 1 of Japanese Law concerning Promotion of Improvement of Public Facilities, etc., Utilizing Private funds, etc.). The relation between a private enterprise, a national or local government, residents, and banks, securities companies, etc. (hereinafter called “financial institutions”) in a scheme of PFI is as shown in
A private enterprise prepares funds (32) by borrowing money from a financial institution, executes construction and operation of a public facility such as a road, a prison, or a public housing (33) to provide public services to residents (34). A national or local government pay considerations (35) to the private enterprise for the services the enterprise provides to the residents on behalf of the a national or local government. For example, if the public service is the operation of a prison, the national or local government pay considerations (35) to the private enterprise for operating the prison on behalf of the national or local government.
The residents receive the services (34) provided by the private enterprise and pay the considerations (36) for the services or service fees, and the private enterprise obtains income/profit (37) through its involvement in the public works. The residents in return deposit money (31) in the financial institution, and the financial institution lends money as investment (32) to the private enterprise and receives the repayment of the capital and the payment of the interest.
Thus, PFI is a means, which has been known for private institutions for obtaining funds from private financial institutions for the purpose of conducting public works such as infrastructure improvement projects. Also known in PFI is a method of obtaining funds through bond issues instead of borrowing money from financial institutions.
However, there is a problem as shown below in the abovementioned government guaranteed bonds, project finance bonds and PFI. For example, in case of government 100% guaranteed bonds, a government guarantees the bond issuer's full liabilities of repayment of principals and interest so that it may end up wasting a large some of tax money in fulfilling its guaranteed obligations. Therefore, it is difficult to improve necessary infrastructures using government guaranteed bonds under a tight financial condition.
In case of project finance bonds, there is another problem that bond buyers are generally reluctant to buy bonds intended for public works projects to be executed by a private enterprise, because, when a private enterprise, which issued project finance bonds, fails in operating public works and the performance deteriorates, there is no guaranty for repayment to the buyers of the project finance bonds. Therefore, it is also difficult to improve necessary infrastructures using project finance bonds as well.
Moreover, in case of PFI, investments by financial institutions to a private enterprise are generally insufficient, because the credibility of a private enterprise, which engages in risky public works, is generally too low. Therefore, it is difficult to attract private funds into public works through PFI because there is no guaranty for repayment for the bond issuers' liabilities for principal and interest repayment liabilities similar even if it is guaranteed by a government when the government is under a tight financial condition.
A document titled “Financing of major infrastructure and public services projects: Lessons from French experience throughout the would” by DAEI (French Ministry of Public Works, Economic and International Affairs Division), Private Financing of Public Infrastructure, Paris, 1994, describes various public-private partnership (PPP) models with different allocations of responsibilities: operations and maintenance contract, lease, build operate and transfer (assets), concession of service provision to users. The Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) Project Database of the World Bank tracks information on more than 2,700 infrastructure projects with private investment in the energy (electricity and natural gas), telecommunications, transport, and water and sewerage sectors in low- and middle-income countries.
In the model of Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) or Build-Operate-Own-Transfer (BOOT), a private entity receives a franchise from the public sector to finance, design, construct, and operate a facility for a specified period of time, after which the ownership of the project and the facility is transferred back to the public sector. During the time that the project proponent operates the facility, it is allowed to charge facility users appropriate tolls, fees, rentals, and charges stated in their contract to enable the project proponent to recover its investment, and operating and maintenance expenses in the project. Even though the private management of public projects generates efficiency gains, BOT requires the private entity to raise its own funds, which is rather difficult.
Most infrastructure finance deals draw on an array of local and international funding sources, including syndicated commercial bank loans, bond issuances, equipment leasing, multilateral and export credit agency loans or guarantees, and equity commitments by project promoters and dedicated equity funds. For example, as described in Ch. 6 of the book titled “Global Development Finance 2004—Harnessing Cyclical Gains for Development” by World Bank, Vietnam's first international Build-Operate-Transfer power project, Phu My 3, with a generating capacity of 717 megawatts, reached financial closure in June 2003. Three-quarters of the funding took the form of debt, $40 million of which came from the Asian Development Bank; $99 million from the Japanese export credit agency, JBIC; and $170 million from a syndicate of international banks (Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Credit Agricole Indosuez, Credit Lyonnais, Fortis Bank, and Mizuho Corporate Bank). The equity component of $103 million was provided by the main sponsors (Electricite de France, Sumitomo Corporation, and Tokyo Electric Power Company), as shareholders' capital. The extended political risk insurance supporting the commercial tranche is provided by the Asian Development Bank, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance. The financing structure of Phu My 3, with several types of debt, equity, and credit enhancements, is not unique to Vietnam or the power sector. It ensured access to international capital markets and enhanced efficiency by reducing overall financing costs, and extending debt maturity to match the project's underlying economics. Although the project involved several types of debt, equity, and credit enhancements, it did not provide one single investment instrument with characteristics of both debt and equity.
The traditional means for raising funds for business operations are roughly divided into two legal categories. One has the nature of equity to which an investor can not claim repayment of paid in capital against a company that had received fund from such investor as a means of fund for its business such as investment in stocks, and the other has the nature of debt which a investor can claim repayment of principal at the date of maturity as in the case of an investment in bonds. Considerations to investor for fund to business, in the case of stock, is “dividend,” and in the case of bond or loan is “interest.”
All securities stipulated by the Japanese laws are categorized in each of the two categories above, there are no securities which belong to both of them legally. Currently, in the U.S. and other countries, some fund raising means having middle nature between them, such as mezzanine funds. Private equity and mezzanine funds, typically structured as limited partnerships, are unregulated collective investment schemes, and have therefore been marketable to private individuals. It will takes a long period of time for governments to resolve the relevant issues, such as their tax treatment as debt or equity.
The variety of securities are rigorously defined as follows under Clause 1, Article 2 of the Japanese Law:
i) Government security,
ii) Municipal bond,
iii) Debt security issued by a juridical person under a special law,
iv) Specified corporate debt security prescribed in the Law Concerning the Mobilization of Assets,
v) Corporate debt security,
vi) Equity security issued by a juridical person established under a special law,
vii) Preferred equity security prescribed in the Law Concerning Preferred Equity Contribution to Cooperative Financial Institutions or instrument representing the right to subscribe thereto,
viii) Preferred equity security prescribed in the Law Concerning the Mobilization of Assets, or security representing the right to subscribe thereto,
ix) Share certificate, subscription right certificate, subscription warrant certificate,
x) Beneficiary security of an investment trust or foreign investment trust prescribed in the Law Concerning Investment Trusts and Investment Corporations,
xi) Investment security or foreign investment security prescribed in the Law Concerning Investment Trusts and investment Corporations,
xii) Beneficiary security of a loan trust,
xiii) Beneficiary security of a special purpose trust prescribed in the Law Concerning the Mobilization of Assets,
xiv) Such promissory note issued by an juridical person to raise fund necessary for its business as may be prescribed by an ordinance of the Cabinet Office (Commercial paper),
xv) Security or instrument issued by the government or a juridical person of a foreign country that has the nature of any security or instrument set forth in i) through ix), or xii), xiii) or xiv) hereof (Foreign share certificate, foreign commercial paper, etc.),
xvi) Such security or instrument issued by a foreign juridical person representing the beneficiary right to a trust set up on the basis of loan credits of a person engaged in the banking business or any other form of money-lending business, or any other right similar thereto, as may be prescribed by an ordinance of Cabinet Office (Beneficiary security of trust, etc.),
xvii) Security or instrument set forth in each of i) through xvi), xviii) and xix) hereof, or security or instrument representing rights pertaining to trade in options contract on a security or to trade in over-the-counter options contract on a security that has the right to be regarded as security,
xviii) Security or instrument issued by a person who has received a deposit of a security or instrument set forth in i) through xvii) hereto and issued in a country other than one in which such security or instrument on deposit was issued, representing the right pertaining to the security or instrument on deposit (ADR, etc.), or
xix) Such security or instrument other than those set forth in each of the i) through xviii) hereto as may be prescribed by a Cabinet order as one that is deemed to require the assurance of the public interest or the protection of investors in the light of its liquidity and other circumstances (Certificate of negotiable deposit issued by foreign juridical person).
Accordingly, all securities stipulated by the Japanese Law are categorized in each of the two categories of debts and equity, there are no securities which has the characteristics of both legally.
In Japan, the classification between equity and debt is approached through the view of what kind of legal formality has been adopted, there is no security that has been developed having characteristics of both, and they are distinguished by a standard: if an instrument has been adopted using the legal formality of equity, although it also has a nature of debt, it shall be treated as an equity; and if an instrument has been adopted using the legal formality of debt, although it also has a nature of equity, it shall be treated as a debt. For example, a “Subordinated Loan” is popular in Japan and is utilized by the government to pour public funds into some financial institutions. Although a “Subordinated Loan” can be categorized as having a middle nature because, when the debtor becomes insolvent, it is inferior to a normal loan regarding superiority of repayment, but is superior to a repayment of capital to an equity holder, a “Subordinated Loan” is legally categorized as a debt, and a compensation/payment is “interest” which the rate of such interest is usually higher than that of an ordinary loan.
SEC is the governing body in the US oversee the bond markets to protect investors by ensuring accurate information disclosure for valuing companies and securities and ensuring efficient secondary markets for debt issuance by corporations and state and local governments. While institutional investors dominate the bond markets, retail investors' participation is on the rise. U.S. households hold more corporate debt than municipal bonds. Approximately 65% of trades in investment grade, high yield and convertible debt are under $100,000 in size, a range assumed to represent retail activity, and there are comparable levels of retail activity across the spectrum of credit quality.
The members of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (“NASD”) must report transaction information on transactions in all corporate debt instruments, including both investment grade and high-yield debt securities, within 45 minutes of execution. Professionals access the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) Data on a “real time” basis (as long as they are undated, not when the transactions are matched) through the TRACE website or market data vendors, and many more access it on a delayed basis. While most corporate bond trades are now reported to the NASD, not all of that data is disseminated to market users. So far, the NASD disseminates transaction information on more than 4,700 securities, including large issue investment-grade bonds, 50 high-yield bonds, and an additional 120 BBB-rated bonds. These bonds account for about 70% of the dollar value of trading activity in investment grade bonds, including the most actively traded bonds. The NASD's Bond Transaction Reporting Committee (“BRTC”) continues to discuss the next phase of dissemination of trade data for all remaining bonds. The remaining bonds include the smaller investment-grade instruments and high-yield bonds, in which there is considerable retail and institutional interest. It is these types of high-yield bonds—offering higher interest, yet lower quality—where pricing decisions are the most difficult and where real-time information would be most beneficial to investors and dealers as well.
Most corporation bonds are unsecured debt obligations backed only by the issuer's general credit and the capacity of its cash flow to repay interest and principal. Once a bond issue is closed, debt service payments are made by the issuer to the bondholders through a paying agent or trustee, which is a bank chosen by the issuer. If the bond issue ever goes into default, the paying agent or trustee usually represents the bondholders in remedial proceedings against the issuer. Guaranteed bond come with a guarantee of one corporation's bonds by another entity. For example, bonds issued by a subsidiary may be guaranteed by the parent corporation. Or bonds issued by a joint venture between two companies are 100% guaranteed by both parent corporations. Guaranteed bonds become, in effect, debentures of a guaranteeing corporation and benefit from its presumably better credit. Sometimes, it makes economic sense for the issuer to pay a third party to guarantee the bond issue which is called credit enhancement. An insurance company may issue an insurance policy 100% guaranteeing payment of debt service on the bonds, or a bank may issue a letter of credit to 100% guarantee the bonds.
In US, some bonds have characteristics of equity but still fall into the category of debt. For example, income bonds or revenue bonds are bonds that promise to pay interest only when earned by the issuer, and failure to pay interest does not result in default. As such, it is unattractive to private investors. As another example, combination bonds are bonds with double guarantee. A combination bond is guaranteed by revenue generated from the project that the bond is financing and guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the government issuing the bond, i.e., an unconditional commitment to pay 100% of interest and principal on debt. Although they are fully guaranteed by a government, when the government is under a tight financial condition or suffers from big spending or trade deficits, the government gets unduly burdened and investors get cold-feet.
There is a need for a fixed rate financing instrument having characteristics of both debt and equity to provide sufficient confidence to private investment without unduly burdening governments or third parties to the issuance of such a financing instrument. Once such a new financing instruments become available, there are needs for a method for establishing a market for them and for a method for offering them on-line.
A stock or bond newly offered for sale by a corporation or a government entity, usually through an underwriter or a private placement. A private placement is only available directly to institutional investors, such as banks, mutual funds, insurance companies, pension funds, and foundations, which does not require SEC registration, provided the securities are bought for investment purposes rather than resale. To newly offer a stock or bond to the public, an underwriter or underwriting syndicate is indispensable, which guarantees purchase of all shares of stocks or bonds being issued by the corporation or government entity, including an agreement to purchase by the underwriter if the public does not buy all the shares or bonds to assume risk. The SEC requires: offers cannot be made before a registration statement has been filed with the SEC; only oral offers can be made after a registration statement is filed; written offers can not be made until the registration statement is declared effective by the SEC staff; offers can not be accepted until a registration statement becomes effective; and after a registration statement is declared effective, sales literature can not be delivered unless accompanied or preceded by a final statutory prospectus.
An on-line offering registered with the SEC that is offered or sold—partly or wholly—using electronic media, including the internet, e-mails, or CD-ROMs. In some cases, not only are offers and sales made electronically, but also an issuer's and/or underwriter's delivery obligations are met electronically. The term “e-offering” typically is used to describe an underwritten offering in which one or more underwriters make offers and sales through a Web site and/or e-mails. Some of the underwriters who specialize in this area refer to themselves as “e-underwriters,” such as Wit Soundview®, Charles Schwabe®, e*Trade®, DLJdirecWR®, Hambrecht®, etc. Technology is leveraged to reduce costs, facilitate communication and keep better track of how an offering is progressing. Companies or underwriters use Web site prospectuses to reach a broader pool of potential investors. The underwriters easily build their “book” of indications of interest via e-mail. Potential investors easily research a company's and its industry's prospects. Electronic delivery reduces printing and postage costs.
However, there are gray legal issues regarding e-offering which have not been addressed by the SEC or the courts in the US. Hopefully, more formal and informal guidance (procedures submitted by underwriters and issuers and then reviewed and approved by Office of Chief Counsel of the Division of Corporation Finance of SEC on an individual basis) will become available. For example, companies that conducted IPO Dutch auctions included: Ravenswood Winery Inc. (Feb. 4, 1999), Salon Internet Inc. (Apr. 19, 1999), Andover.net (Sep. 16, 1999), and Nogatech Inc. (Mar. 14, 2000). After the dot.com bobbles burst in 2000, Google.com had its on-line initial public offerings (IPO) in August 2004 in which the process of applying for newly issued shares was handled electronically (via websites). Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston were named as the lead underwriters for the deal.
During 2000, there were several pioneers that used the Internet to issue debt off a shelf, such as Dow Chemical, Ford Motor Credit Company, Goldman Sachs, Discover Financial Services, PeopleFirst, and Fiat Spa. During 2000, several exempt issuers (i.e. which were not required to register their offerings or file periodic reports) issued bonds off a shelf using the Internet to varying degrees—including the World Bank, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae. Even though the amount of underwriting compensation typically charged in public offerings of investment-grade debt securities is less than 1%, which is below those charged in equity offerings, the issuers can choose to file without underwriters. There is a need to offer new bond or fixed rate financing instruments on-line to the public without mountains of red tape, expenses paid to the underwriters etc.
Direct Stock Purchase Plans are SEC-regulated and established by companies to enable investors to purchase company shares without the intervention of a broker and paying a commission. Larger companies with a liquid market for its stock tend to have direct stock purchase plans. Companies benefit from the ability to cross-market their products and services and raise capital inexpensively. Eligibility criteria, investment program procedures, and program features may vary substantially from program to program. Some companies administer the sale of stock directly through their corporate offices, while others use a plan run through a bank or a trust company, which may also functions as transfer agent. The shares may be retained by a stock transfer or trust company, or converted to certificate form and mailed to an investor. Upon the submission of a share purchase order, an investor will receive an immediate e-mail confirmation of the order as well as a list of the exact price of the shares purchased. Until now, the accepted practice for Direct Purchase programs are to aggregate all purchase orders submitted over the course of a week, semi-week, or a day (by 4:00 p.m.) and to execute them all at once. The purchase price will not be known until the purchase is completed at a later time. Such a process introduces a fair degree of uncertainty to the process and dissuades many potential investors from participating in the program. There is a need to offer new stock or bond on-line to the public with real-time pricing. In U.S., investors can buy bonds directly from the government through TreasuryDirect at http://www.treasurydirect.gov. Currently, there is no direct purchase plan for corporate bonds or other financing instruments issued by private corporations. There is a need to directly offer new bonds and fixed rate financing instruments on-line to the public or via a direct purchase plan.
The Bond Market Association published a survey in December 2004 titled “eCommerce in the Fixed rate Markets: the 2004 Review of Electronic Transaction Systems” which catalogs and describes all systems that allow dealers or institutional investors to buy or sell fixed rate products electronically. Online bond trading platforms have accelerated the development and implementation of value-added services to enhance the efficiency of electronic trade execution and reduce users' costs. Most corporate/agency bonds trade over-the-counter; nevertheless, there are some bonds called “listed” bonds or “exchange-traded” bonds that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The OCT market is comprised of dealers that hold an inventory of bonds, who buy and sell for their own account. Others act as agents and buy from or sell to other dealers in response to specific customer requests. These OCT bonds are traded on the “secondary” market and are available at dealers. If an individual inventor sends a “firm” bid to a dealer for selling OCT bonds, the investor must be reachable by phone or email for the next hour or two. Usually firm bids are good for one hour. If the dealer has no inventory, it may take over well over an hour for the dealer's trader to call various other dealers and for the other dealers to get back to the initiating dealer with bids. At times, there may not be any dealer wanting to purchase the bond. Orders to sell are handled on a best effort basis only.
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) requires all bonds to be traded in the Automated Bond System (ABS) that records bids and offers for inactively traded bonds until they are canceled or executed, and matches them on a price and time priority basis. Because bids and ask prices of inactively traded bonds aren't constantly changing due to demand and supply conditions, investors have difficulties to look for a quote. By electronically monitoring all inactive bonds, the NYSE keeps an inventory of bond prices for investors to check.
Users can access a database of all trades executed on the system and, in some cases, trades executed on other platforms or by voice. The National Association of Securities Dealers in the corporate market and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board in the municipal market are trying to expand their trade reporting systems in early 2005. Bond Exchange of South Africa (BERS) was formally licensed in May 1996 as a licensed financial exchange on which bonds and related products were to be traded and matched on the same trading day on which the trade is struck, and all trades must be reported and matched to BERS within one hour from which the trade is struck South African bonds are quoted and traded in yield, and are settled in price. There is a standard convention for converting between the yield and the price of a bond for a given settlement date. However, BERS does not process bond transactions as efficient as a stock exchange executes stock transactions. The Bond Market Association actively promotes and urges the SEC to establish a self-regulatory organization for the debt market. There is a need for a bond and fixed rate instrument exchange which processes transactions as efficient as the stock exchange executes stock transactions.
Bond market information is available at a website sponsored by the Bond Market Association with data form MSRB and Standard & Poor's (“S&P”). It divides bonds into Municipal Market, Government Market, Corporate Market, and mortgage-backed (MBS) and asset-backed (ABS) Market. As mentioned, in the US, bonds are not traded on an formal exchange, are thus considered over-the-counter securities. Most debt instruments are traded by investment banks making markets for specific issues. If someone wants to buy or sell a bond, they call the bank that makes the market in that bond and asks for quotes. The broker/dealer negotiate directly with one another over computer networks and by phone. Bonds tend to trade infrequently, making the bid-ask spread larger. Currently, there are formal exchanges providing or maintaining a marketplace for stocks, options, futures, commodities, or currencies, but not for bonds or unique fixed rate financing instruments. There is need for formal exchanges for bonds or unique fixed rate financing instruments
The present invention intends to provide bonds to be issued for the purpose of acquiring private funds to be invested in public works such as infrastructure improvements so that infrastructure improvements can be implemented even under a tight financial condition.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel method of issuing a new financial product different, from stocks and bonds, that will provide investors who trade stocks and bonds with a new chance of earning profits by creating and marketing a financial instrument that provides for partial guarantee of a security by a third party.
It is a purpose of this invention to provide a new financial instrument which does not specify the redemption date although the dividend, interest and guaranty are stated, thus providing a new means for enterprises to obtain funds more easily, and a new financial product for investors, different from stocks and bonds, for earning profits through transactions, as well as a new market forming method for the new financial instrument.
It is a purpose of this invention to provide a market place for the general public to directly purchase bonds or a newly-issued fixed rate financing instrument.
The present invention provides a means of issuing bonds related to project financing, where projects are public works such as infrastructure improvement projects. A person who wishes to purchase such a bond is able to see the contents of the public works to which the person is investing. Since the person can select the public works at will, in which his/her money is to be invested, this method enhances his/her desires for purchasing the bonds. Moreover, since the person's investment will never be used in public works to which he/her objects, the investor can purchase bonds with more confidence.
The present invention provides a private enterprise trying to execute public works such as infrastructure improvement projects a means of acquiring large sums of funds from private sectors to be invested into the public works such as infrastructure improvement projects through bond issuing. This is because those who are buying bonds can be assured for the repayment as the principal and interests repayment liabilities of the bond issuers are warranted to certain fixed limits by a national or local government so that the bond buyers are guaranteed to be able to collect the principal and interests safely to certain fixed limits even when the a private enterprise fail in the operation of the public works. The owner of the securities issued under the present invention may be eligible for dividends, besides interests.
The securities issued according to this invention are a new kind of financial product which did not exist before. This product encourages people who have never bought securities to buy securities. Therefore, the invention can create a new financial market.
Furthermore, the owner of the securities is guaranteed for the repayment of the principal of the funds provided to the business operator by the Government of Japan, a public entity, or a private enterprise of Japanese nationality, as well as the government of a foreign country, or a public entity of foreign nationality either singularly by one of them, or jointly by two or more of them within a predetermined limit, if the business operator who issued the securities becomes unable to pay interests in accordance with the interest wording due to bankruptcy or poor business.
Moreover, the present invention provides a means of preventing the national and local governments from wasting tax money, because the national or local government's warrant for the bond issuers' principal and interest repayment liabilities are limited to certain levels that are determined fairly by an independent public organization. Thus, the national or local government are not obliged to bear the full amounts of the bond issuers' principal and interests repayment liabilities when the operations of public works such as infrastructure improvement projects by a private enterprise fail as in the case of government guaranteed bonds. Furthermore, since the present invention encourages those who have never bought bonds to buy bonds, it forms a new bond market.
An embodiment of the invention includes a method for forming a new market capable of making a person who has never purchased securities purchase securities issued by using the system, and trade those securities in the market as needed.
In an embodiment of the invention a server includes a means for transmitting information an offer, indicating securities available to the client and a means for receiving a bid or an offer to purchase securities. The server also has software capable of market making or creating an authorization to issue securities based, in part, on the bids or offers to purchase securities received from the client. The server also has means for receiving individual user identification information and user institution identification information. The server is also capable transmitting and authorization including the individual user identification information and the authorization to issue securities to the securities issuing machine. The server also has means for receiving a confirmation of the issue of securities from the securities issuing machine, accumulating a total of the securities confirmed as issued and calculating fees to charge the user institutions.
In the embodiment of the invention, the client means for transmitting the bid or offer to purchase securities to the server identification information about both the individual user the user institution to the server.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
The present invention meets or exceeds all the above objects and goals. Upon further study of the specification and appended claims, further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.
Various other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
In order to more clearly and concisely describe the subject matter of the claims, the following definitions are intended to provide guidance as to the meanings of specific terms used in the following written description. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. As used herein:
“A fixed rate financing instrument” of the invention: A fixed rate financing instrument issued by a corporation, government, or other organization which offers evidence of debt or equity, and pay a fixed interest rate and/or dividend. Such debt instrument, that obligates the issuer to pay to the bondholder the principal (the original amount of the loan) plus interest, is not secured by any property but only secured by the issuing entity's promise to pay. The instrument may be partially guaranteed by public entities. The unique “fixed rate financing instruments” of the invention either have a maturity date for only part of the debt (See “Odaiba Casino” Project in
A “Dividend of the fixed rate financing instrument” is the distribution of an amount of profits of operation to a holder of the fixed rate financing instrument of the invention. The money amount of the dividend may be defined as a fixed amount of the operation profits (e.g., as soon as the operation profits reaching a target amount until a pay-off day similar to an amortization pay-off day of a traditional bond). The money amount of the dividend may also be defined as a variable amount, such as a percentage of the operation profits (e.g., since the day of operation), or a combination with a fixed amount of the profits. The dividend of the fixed rate financing instrument of the invention is essentially different from a conventional dividend to a stockholder which is the distribution of profits to a company's shareholders, usually paid quarterly.
“Public works” and “public projects”: works constructed for public use, benefit, or enjoyment, especially when financed and owned by a government or a public entity. Sometimes a government will take recourses to such measures in times of economic recession, as a form of “pump priming,” under the belief that borrowing money and spending it on the wages and materials needed for public works will improve the economy. Public works were a major part of the New Deal in the 1930s that pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression. The terms according to the invention include not only public works in the conventional sense, i.e., public works that are planned solely by a national or local government and executed solely by a national or local government, but also public works that are planned solely by a private enterprise and executed solely by a private enterprise; public works that are planned solely by a national or local government and executed solely by a private enterprise; public works that are planned solely by a private enterprise and executed solely by a national or local government; public works that are planned solely by a national or local government and executed jointly by a national or local government and a private enterprise; public works that are planned solely by a private enterprise and executed jointly by the a national or local government and a private enterprise; public works that are planned jointly by a national or local government and a private enterprise and executed solely by a national or local government; public works that are planned jointly by a national or local government and a private enterprise and executed solely by a private enterprise; and public works that are planned jointly by a national or local government and a private enterprise and executed jointly by a national or local government and a private enterprise. Examples of public works include highways, docks, airports, canals, dams, dikes, pipelines, railroads, roads, tunnels, artificial harbors, mines, schools, hospitals, water purification and sewage treatment centers, etc.
A “fixed rate public work financing instrument” is a fixed rate financing instrument of the invention which is dedicated for financing public works and issued by a corporation, government, or other organization which offers evidence of debt or equity.
“Infrastructure improvement projects”: include constructions and operations of public facilities such as roads, railways, harbors, airports, rivers, parks, public water supply systems, public sewage systems, and public industrial water supply systems; constructions and operations of facilities for government uses such as government buildings and housings; constructions and operations of facilities for public benefits such as public housings, educational and cultural facilities, waste processing facilities, healthcare facilities, social benefit facilities, welfare facilities, parking facilities, and underground commercial facilities; constructions and operations of information and communication facilities, heat energy supply facilities; new energy facilities; recycling facilities (except waste processing facilities), sightseeing facilities, and research facilities; and constructions and operations of commercial buildings annexed to railway stations and other commercial buildings.
“Third parties to issuance” are anyone except the executors/debtors and the buyers/holders of the fixed rate financing instruments of the invention. The third parties to issuance may be public or private entities, for profit or non-profit entities, financial or non-financial entities, such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Japanese Export Credit Agency (JBIC), the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, the Catholic Church, etc.
“Terms” of a fixed rate financing instrument of the invention are a set of features, requirements, symbols and terminology regarding technical and quality characteristics of the financing instrument. The terms include, but are not limited to, name and contents of the public work (e.g., locations of performance, delivery of services, deadline(s) for completing the public work); executor(s) of the public work; issuer and/or underwriter; face value; terms of payment of interest/dividend; grantor; percentage of guarantees by third parties to the issuance; redemption period/date and location; retirement date; and combinations thereof; etc.
The wording 1 of “Construction & Operation Bond for Y Hospital to Be Operated by Private Enterprise” indicates that this bond is a bond according to the embodiment of the present invention. The wording 1 clarifies that the bond is related to operation by a private enterprise 15 (provides healthcare services to Japanese citizens 16 and collects healthcare fees 18). The wording 1 also clarifies that the bond is a bond issued with an intention of acquiring funds (11) for the construction of Y Hospital (14).
Therefore, a Japanese citizen who is buying (12) the bond can clearly understand from the wording 1 that the funds being acquired by the bonds are invested (13) strictly into the construction of the Y Hospital (14). Thus, the Japanese citizen who is buying the bond can have a clear sense that “my money will be invested for the construction of Y Hospital.”
The role of the Government of Japan in
The role of the private enterprise in
Thus, according to this bond, contrary to other bonds where the buyers are not aware of what purposes the investments are used, the use of the funds acquired by the bond is clear so that the bond buyers' confidence can be enhanced, the bond buyers' desire for purchase can be increased, and ultimately promote investment of private funds to public works (13).
The wording 2 of “20 Years” indicates that the principal and the interest shall be redeemable (21) in 20 years from the issuing date. The wording 3 of “¥100,000” indicates the amount of fund (12) obtained by the issue of this bond. The wording 4 of “The redemption payment for this bond shall be available in exchange for this certificate at X Bank's main office or at any of its branch or agent” clarifies the locations of redemption. The wording 4 also clarifies that the principal and interest are paid in exchange for the bond certificate.
The wording 5 of “This bond is warranted by the Government of Japan for 60% of its value” clarifies that the Japanese government warrants (20) the bond issuer's principal and interest repayment liabilities to the Japanese citizen (buyer) within a certain limit. Although Z Company is liable to pay (19) to the bond issuer the cost of development of Y Hospital and its interest from the profit and revenue earned from the operation of Y Hospital (18) through the Japanese government, the operation of Y Hospital can deteriorate or fail.
However, the wording 5 warrants that 60% of the principal to be repaid by the bond issuer to the Japanese citizen (buyer). Thus, contrary to the bond based on the SPC Law, the bond buyers' confidence can be enhanced, and ultimately promote investment of private funds to public works (12). The warranty (20) by the Japanese government of the bond repayment liability is limited to a certain amount. Therefore, the Japanese government is not required to warrant the entire amount of the bond's principal and interests according to this bond.
The wording 6 of “If the redemption date happened to be a bank holiday, the payment shall be made on the next business day” clarifies the payment shall be made on the next business day as it is not clear when the payment (21) of the principal and the interest will be made if the redemption date falls on a bank holiday.
The wording 7 of “The bond shall be void in 10 years from the day after the redemption date” clarifies that the bond shall be void (21) after a period.
The wording 8 of “Registration and replacement of the bond certificate for reasons of soiling or damage or any other handling of the bond certificate shall be available at X Bank's main office or at any of its branch or agent,” clarifies how the bond certificate is handled in case of need for registration and replacement of the bond certificate for reasons of soiling or damage.
The wording 9 of “Issuing Date: Apr. 1, 2002” clarifies the issuing date (11). The wording 10 of “Redemption Date: Mar. 31, 2022” clarifies the redemption date (21).
The abovementioned bond is according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the bonds according to the present invention are not limited to the abovementioned bond. For example, the wording 1 can be anything as long as the particular bond is a bond related to a certain project finance, for example, they can be “Construction Bond for T Road Operated by Private Enterprise,” “Construction Bond for R Senior Citizen's Home,” and “Construction & Operation Bond for W Public Housing Project.”
Moreover, the degree of warranty of repayment liabilities by the national government indicated in the wording 5 is not limited to “60%” but rather can be any degree or ratio warranted by the a national or local government, for example, 10, 20 or 50%. Further, the entity that warrants the repayment liabilities in the wording 5 does not have to be “Japan,” but rather can be any arbitrary country in the world such as U.S., China, Korea, and U.K.
Furthermore, the warranting government in the wording 5 can be an arbitrary local government(s) in the world such as Tokyo, Osaka, Los Angeles, and Beijing. The buyer of the bond according to the invention is not limited to a Japanese citizen. A citizen of an arbitrary country of the world, such as a U.S., Chinese, Korean and U.K. citizen can be a buyer of the bond according to the invention.
The “bond issuer” can be a foundation for urban development, or a similar entity.
According to the present invention, those who are buying bonds can be assured for the repayment as the principal and interests repayment liabilities of the bond issuers are warranted to certain fixed limits by a national or local government so that the bond buyers can have more confidence in buying the band as they are guaranteed to be able to collect the principal and interests safely to certain fixed limits even when the a private enterprise fail in the operation of the public works.
As such, it is obvious that the redemption claim materializing after the due date for a bond issued according to the present invention is backed by strong credibility. Therefore, the present invention can be an effective means of cultivating unutilized funds held by private investors or citizens by providing unique bonds.
Each of the fixed rate financing instruments of the invention shown in
Most of the listed fixed rate financing instruments of the invention in
For example, in the “ODAIBA CASINO” project, before the completion of the Casino, the proceeds from selling the “3% ODAIBA CASINO Construction & Operation Bonds” according to the invention (although named as bonds, it is a fixed rate financing instrument of the invention) are used to pay for the construction cost and the interests to the instrument holders (directly or via a facilitator/underwriter of the instrument). After the completion of the Casino, the revenues and profits generated by the Casino continue to pay for the interests to the instrument holders. On the date of redemption, the accumulated profits generated by the Casino pay off the principal of the ODAIBA CASINO Construction & Operation Bonds. If the proceeds from selling the ODAIBA CASINO Construction & Operation Bonds are not sufficient to pay for the interests to the instrument holders during construction, or if the revenues and profits generated by the Casino are not sufficient to pay for the interests to the instrument holders during the operation of the Casino, or if on the redemption date, the accumulated profits generated by the Casino are not sufficient to pay off the principal/face value of the Bonds, the executors are 100% liable for paying the due interests or principal to the instrument holders. However, if they default, the grantor which guarantees 70% of interest payments for 10 years as well as 70% of principal at redemption, has to pay 70% of any due interest and principal and/or according to the terms stipulated on the back of the Bonds. The remaining 30% debt is not guaranteed by any other third parties, thus still has to be paid by the executors/debtors out of revenues, assets, etc. based upon negotiation between the holders and the debtors or any applicable bankruptcy proceedings. The Terms and Conditions of the ODAIBA CASINO Construction & Operation Bonds are listed in Table 1.
dollars ($) (the “Bonds”) issued by the Japan Highway
One exception is the fixed rate financing instrument for the “JAPANESE HIGHWAY” project listed in
Rather paying back the principle on a redemption date, the Bonds pays a flat interest/dividend of 3% of the principle until the retirement date of the Highway, and 60% of interest/dividend payment is guaranteed by the United States government. Before the completion of the Tomei Highway, the proceeds from selling the 3% Japanese Tomei Highway Construction & Operation Bonds (Written Terms & conditions in
If the Japan Highway Public Corporation (“JHPC”) defaults on interest/dividend payments, the grantor pays 60% of interest/dividend payments until the retirement of the Tomei Highway. The remaining 40% interest/dividend payments are not guaranteed by any other third parties, thus has to be paid by the JHPC out of revenues, assets, etc. based upon the negotiation between the creditors and the debtors or any applicable bankruptcy proceedings.
The fixed rate financing instruments of the invention are novel and nonobvious because they have nature both as debt and as equity. As discussed, even though Article 2 of the Japanese Law and the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934 widely defined securities, the fixed rate financing instruments of the invention correspond to none of the legally defined or commercially available securities. To raise fund from the public in Japan, the fixed rate financing instruments of the invention may be recognized under the Japanese Law as “security or instrument that may be prescribed by a Cabinet order” which is “deemed to require the assurance of the public interest or the protection of investors in the light of its liquidity and other circumstances <19>”.
To offer newly-issued stocks, bonds, or the fixed-rate financing instrument of the invention to the public without mountains of red tape, expenses to the underwriters, the invention provide an electronic securities issuing method includes a step of (1) public-offering the fixed rate financing instrument on-line directly by the issuing legal entity; or (2) public-offering the fixed rate financing instrument through a direct purchase plan directly by the issuing legal entity. The method delivers to a potential purchaser a financial disclosure as required by law, requests the potential purchaser to acknowledge receipt and review of the financial disclosure, and confirms the acknowledgement of the financial disclosure by the potential purchaser. The method then requests the potential purchaser to specify a purchasing quantity of the fixed rate financing instrument, finalizes the purchasing quantity and time, and then informs the potential purchaser the finalized purchasing quantity and time.
The invention further provide a method for forming a new market comprising one of (1) preparing a fixed rate financing instrument based upon the above-mentioned method, and (2) public-offering the fixed rate financing instrument and delivering to a potential purchaser based upon the above-mentioned method.
These methods can be implemented by any computer software or hardware systems and networks, i.e., any systems, servers, methods, programs and computer-readable recording media, known to one skilled in the art.
On the other hand, the securities issuing institution can provide various services for each user institution depending on this mode of the embodiment. For example, it is possible to arrange a post-issue lump sum settling based on the securities issuing result information or provide discount service depending on the number of securities issued for each user institution. This makes it possible for the securities issuing institution to monopolize, practically speaking, each user institution's securities purchase needs.
Also, according to this embodiment, processes within the institution such as charging forward and its registration become unnecessary as the fee settling procedures are done for the user institutions.
To promote the transactions of bonds and the fixed rate financing instruments of the invention, a formal exchange for bonds or unique fixed rate financing instrument shall be establish at each major industrial country, such as US, Japan, etc. A bond exchange is an organization of which the members are bond brokers. A bond exchange provides facilities for the trading of bonds and other financial instruments. Such facilities are also provided for the issue and redemption of the bonds as well as other capital events including the payment of interests and dividends. An effective bond exchange becomes the most important component of a active bond market. Gradually, all bond exchanges will become part of the global securities market.
The current Cross-Matching Systems as categorized by the Bond Market Association brings both dealers and institutional investors together in electronic trading networks that provide real-time or periodic cross-matching sessions. Customers enter anonymous buy and sell orders with multiple counterparties that are automatically executed when contra side orders are entered at the same price or when the posted prices are “hit” or “lifted.” Sometimes, customers initiate negotiation sessions to establish the terms of trades.
The invention improves the Cross-Matching Systems to provide a real-time double-auction system which allows not only dealers and institutional investors, but also individual investors of the general public to submit offers to buy or sell bonds and fixed rate financing instruments, and matches the offers in a real-time fashion so as to promote the efficiency of electronic trade execution and reduce transactional costs. The offers, orders and pricing data are transparent for all participants to access, and the participants receive instant trade confirmation.
As the “Terms” of a “fixed rate financing instrument” of the invention include a percentage of guarantee by third parties to the issuance, it allows the inventors to screen or search the “fixed rate financing instruments” by “percentage of guarantee by third parties to the issuance,” which is not available in any existing screeners for stock, bond, or other securities.
According to the invention, a potential purchaser (an institutional investor or a member of the general public) can go directly a physical or online offering site of a private corporation to view prospectus and to offer to purchase and/or to directly purchase the newly-issued financing instruments from the private corporation. Alternatively, the user may offer to purchase or purchase the newly-issued financing instruments via a direct purchase plan offered by the private corporation. As such, the invention provides new market mechanisms which allow people to trade fixed rate financing instruments.
Investors can purchase the new financial products of the present invention that are neither stocks nor bonds, and seek profits in a new financial market that did not exist before, while business operators can obtain funds using these securities that are neither stocks nor bonds. The financial instruments according to the present invention will dig up latent private funds in private sectors to be invested into public works. Therefore, the present invention will help the national as well as local governments of various countries of the world to improve infrastructures such as roads and healthcare facilities even under a tight financial condition.
The principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. However, the invention which is intended to be protected is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. The embodiments described herein are illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by others, and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such variations, changes and equivalents which fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the claims, be embraced thereby.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-265178 | Sep 2001 | JP | national |
| 2002-27550 | Feb 2002 | JP | national |
| 2002-51085 | Feb 2002 | JP | national |
| 2002-65123 | Mar 2002 | JP | national |
| 2002-158595 | May 2002 | JP | national |
| 2002-257497 | Sep 2002 | JP | national |
| 2003-27127 | Feb 2003 | JP | national |
This application is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/148,406 filed on Jun. 9, 2005, which is a Continuation-in-Part application of U.S. application Ser. Nos. 10/233,995 filed on Aug. 30, 2002, 10/358,432 filed on Feb. 4, 2003 and 10/376,358 filed on Feb. 27, 2003 and 10/444,870 filed on May 23, 2003, Priority is claimed based U.S. application Ser. No. 11/148,406 filed on Jun. 9, 2005, which is based on the parent U.S. application Ser. Nos. 10/233,995 filed on Aug. 30, 2002, 10/358,432 filed on Feb. 4, 2003 and 10/376,358 filed on Feb. 27, 2003 and 10/444,870 filed on May 23, 2003, which claim the priority dates of Sep. 3, 2001, Feb. 5, 2002, Feb. 27, 2002, Mar. 11, 2002, May 31, 2002, Sep. 3, 2002 and Feb. 4, 2003, the filing dates of Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2001-265178, 2002-27550, 2002-51085, 2002-65123, 2002-158595, 2002-257497 and 2003-27127, respectively.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11148406 | Jun 2005 | US |
| Child | 11898448 | Sep 2007 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10233995 | Aug 2002 | US |
| Child | 11148406 | Jun 2005 | US |
| Parent | 10358432 | Feb 2003 | US |
| Child | 11148406 | Jun 2005 | US |
| Parent | 10376358 | Feb 2003 | US |
| Child | 11148406 | Jun 2005 | US |
| Parent | 10444870 | May 2003 | US |
| Child | 11148406 | Jun 2005 | US |
