South Korea

Korea Western Power (Kowepo) is set to make a comeback to the dollar bond market as early as April next year, to raise funds for refinancing and new investment.

The South Korean government became the first sovereign credit to price a Panda bond on December 15. The country raised Rmb3bn ($467m) from the three year, which saw at least one offshore investor participating, sources close to the deal told GlobalCapital Asia’s sister publication, GlobalRMB.

South Korea’s stock exchange regulator has amended rules for listing on the country’s main board, in an effort to make the process easier and encourage more IPOs on the bourse.

South Korean construction firm SK Engineering & Construction Co has signed a $100m loan for general corporate purposes from three Middle Eastern banks.

China’s Panda bond market is gaining plenty of traction with Standard Chartered becoming the third foreign bank to sell notes in the onshore renminbi market this year. And with a pair of sovereign issuers eager to launch their deals, the asset class is set to soon eclipse dim sum bonds, writes Rev Hui.

South Korea’s t-broad has finally filed a listing application with the Korea Exchange after first mandating banks a year ago. The IPO aims to raise up to W500bn ($436m) around February 2016.

South Korea’s Kookmin Bank is looking to return to the covered bond market as early as January, after hiring a bank to arrange a non-deal roadshow.

South Korea’s Doosan Power Systems (DPS) bagged $300m from a hybrid bond on November 30, opting for a guarantee from Export-Import Bank of Korea. While it was a win-win for investors and the issuer, market participants are concerned about excessive use of the guarantee.

Doosan Power Systems (DPS) and the Sydney branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China started attracting interest from bond investors on November 30, opening books for their respective dollar deals.

Korea Development Bank (KDB) returned to the Singapore dollar bond market on November 26, bagging S$200m ($142m) from a three year deal. The offering marks the Korean policy bank’s third offshore outing in just one week, following deals in Australian dollars and offshore renminbi.

Doosan Power Systems (DPS), wholly owned by Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co, has hired banks and started a roadshow ahead of a 30 year non-call three bond. The dollar outing will be guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim).

The Singapore dollar bond market saw some action on November 26 with Korea Development Bank (KDB) selling a deal in the Lion City.