South Korea

Ahead of what is expected to be a long, dry summer in the primary covered bond market, Korean Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC) and Caffil were out on Wednesday with €1bn new issues.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) sold the first public 20 year dollar bond from a FIG issuer from the country this week — potentially paving the way for other borrowers to also opt for the same tenor. Morgan Davis reports.

Korean Housing Finance Corporation mandated leads for a euro covered bond on Thursday, to be issued under its social framework. At the same time, after this week’s trio of sterling covered bonds bankers believe there is scope for further Sonia-linked supply.

South Korean video game developer Krafton has set in motion an IPO of nearly $5bn, set to be the country’s largest ever listing — and the first of many chunky deals expected in the second half of the year. Jonathan Breen reports.

UniCredit has made a new senior hire in Asia to lead its client activities for South Korea.

South Korea's KEB Hana Bank found a stronger response than expected for its sustainability bond this week, allowing it to raise $600m.

South Korea's Shinhan Card has sold a $300m social bond in the Taiwanese market, finding strong interest from investors keen to support deals in this growing asset class.

Korea Expressway Corp sold its first sustainability dollar bond on Monday, raising $500m as its scarcity value appealed to investors.

KB Kookmin Card raised $300m from its debut in the offshore dollar bond market this week, using a sustainability-labelled deal to add further momentum to the asset class.

South Korean internet giant Naver Corp has returned to the debt market to tap its debut sustainability bond for another $300m.

Shinhan Financial Group sold a Basel III-compliant additional tier one bond with a sustainability label this week, funnelling some of the proceeds from the $500m trade to Covid-19 relief efforts.

SK IE Technology raised W2.29tr ($2.07bn) this week from the largest Korea IPO since 2017. The deal achieved record demand as institutional investors bet on a sector leader and retail buyers rushed to the market for short term gains. Jonathan Breen reports.