TOKYO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - European asset manager Amundi expects the 10-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield to rise to a level at which it would become attractive to buy by the end of next year, Vincent Mortier, group chief investment officer (CIO), said.

In an interview with Reuters, Mortier said the firm currently has no exposure to JGBs, which have low yields relative to most government bonds, due to the Bank of Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy.

The Paris-based firm, which had 1.97 trillion euros ($2.12 trillion) in assets under management at end-September, will wait for JGB yields to climb to more attractive levels as the Japanese central bank normalises its policy.

"It will take a lot of time...but we are convinced that the 10-year yield will rise gradually throughout next year," he said.

While some market participants anticipate the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could make a move to raise rates as soon as next week at its December policy meeting, Amundi forecasts the bank will exit negative interest rates at its June monetary policy meeting, then slowly raise policy rates to 0.5% by the end of 2025.

Under such conditions, the 10-year JGB yield, which moves inversely to its price, will reach 1.25% by the end of next year, Mortier said.

That's a level at which Amundi could consider investing depending on how JGBs are performing relative to Western government bonds, he said.

"We are not yet there...but maybe later next year, JGBs might end up being something that can make sense as an investment."

Amundi also sees the local currency strengthening closer to 120 yen to the dollar as the gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates narrows in the coming year, which the firm sees as fair value.

Mortier adds Amundi expects the yen to appreciate to 130 against the U.S. dollar by the end of 2024.

($1 = 0.9276 euros) (Reporting by Tomo Uetake; writing by Brigid Riley; Editing by Sharon Singleton)