South Korea

South Korean budget carrier Jeju Airlines has announced the terms for its upcoming IPO in October, with the company looking to raise a maximum of W154bn ($130m).

Asiamoney is pleased to present its choices for Asia’s Best Managed Companies 2015. The winners were the firms that impressed us the most through a combination of factors including innovation, financial performance and strategic execution, and after also surveying the views of regional analysts and investors. Our congratulations to all those chosen.

Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries sold all of its holdings in South Korean steelmaker Posco on September 22, with the accelerated share sale raising W226.45bn ($191.78m) after pricing near the wide end of guidance.

Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) has made a successful return to the dollar bond market, with the recent sovereign credit rating upgrade allowing the borrower to enjoy a strong investor reception. Not only was it able to raise more than planned, but KNOC also priced the new bond inside its existing curve.

Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) opened books for a new ten year bond on Tuesday, in what will be its first debt sale of the year.

South Korea’s Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries is in the market to sell down all of its stake in steelmaker Posco, with the accelerated bookbuild expected to raise up to W232bn ($196m).

Hengtao Securities has received listing approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) for its $200m IPO, but is yet to fix dates for marketing as issuers and bankers continue to take a watch-and-wait stance on the market.

South Korean arms manufacturer LIG Nex1 had a debut to remember with institutional demand for its W524.4bn ($447m) IPO going through the roof. Books ended up 121x covered, with the company pricing shares at the top of the range and taking the title of the largest Korean listing of 2015.

The W524.4bn ($444.1m) IPO of South Korean weapons maker LIG Nex1 is proving a hit among foreign investors, say bankers close to the deal.

Standard & Poor’s has raised South Korea’s sovereign credit rating by one notch to AA- from A+ with a stable outlook, saying this was a result of a favourable policy environment, sound fiscal position, and net external creditor position.

Standard & Poor’s has raised South Korea’s sovereign credit rating by one notch to AA- from A+, while Fitch has assigned a first-time rating of B to Pakistan because of the country’s weak fundamentals.

South Korea's Hotel Lotte has appointed one domestic and two global banks to manage its 2016 IPO.