SYDNEY -(Dow Jones)- Telstra Corp. (Australia:TLS) (TLS.AU), Australia's largest telecommunications company, plans to launch a Samurai bond offer in Tokyo, said Chief Financial Officer John Stanhope.

The group also plans investor roadshows for what will be its first foray into the Japanese bond market in a number of years, Stanhope said Monday.

"We will be doing one (Samurai bond issue) and participating in a roadshow," Stanhope told Dow Jone Newswires.

The CFO said the company chose Japan over Australia on cost grounds and added that recent moves in the Australian dollar basis swap spread had added to the advantage of funding offshore.

Samurai bonds are Japanese yen-denominated bonds sold in Japan by offshore issuers.

Telstra put in place a Samurai shelf registration a month ago with the Japanese Ministry of Finance.

The program has a total value of up to Y150 billion, with a lifespan of two years.

Telstra is planning to send personnel to assess the Japanese market in the coming weeks, a market participant said.

Recent sharp moves by Australian dollar currency basis swaps into negative territory have given companies a window of opportunity to secure offshore funding at a cheaper rate, as a negative basis swap reduces the cost of converting offshore borrowings.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Australia:CBA) (CBA.AU) is planning to sell Y40 billion of three-year retail Samurai bonds, documents filed at Japan's Ministry of Finance showed Monday.

-By Enda Curran, Dow Jones Newswires;

61-2-8235-2958; enda.curran@dowjones.com

    (END) Dow Jones Newswires   03-31-08 2311   Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.