Foreign Currency Convertible Bond

Foreign Currency Convertible Bond

A convertible bond that is issued in a currency other than the issuer's own. A company may issue an FCCB if it intends to make a large investment in a country using that foreign currency. For example, when an American company issues a convertible bond in euros because it intends to build a factory in Germany, this is a foreign currency convertible bond. Like all convertible bonds, an FSSB is a bond that a bondholder may exchange, at a certain price, for common stock in the company issuing the bond. The number of shares one receives for each bond and the price one pays for those shares are determined when the convertible bond is issued. This allows bondholders to take advantage of both the low risk of a bond and the potential price appreciation of the underlying stock. The FCCB also reduces the foreign exchange risk for the issuer.