South Korea

A trio of double-A rated SSA names from South Korea, Central America and France tapped the Swiss franc market this week, raising a combined Sfr550m ($575.8m) and paving the way for other similar issuers to follow.

Online casino gaming company DoubleDown Interactive is planning a Nasdaq IPO, the first by a South Korean company in nearly a decade.

South Korean firm Big Hit Entertainment, manager of popular K-pop boy band BTS, has applied for a preliminary review of its IPO with the Korea Exchange.

Korea Development Bank raised $1bn from a new bond on Wednesday, marking its third dollar transaction of the year.

A private equity investor has raised W344bn ($278.6m) from selling shares in South Korean company Celltrion Healthcare, said a source familiar with the matter.

A quartet of SSAs borrowed a combined A$940m ($613.4m) into the Kangaroo market this week, spurring the SSA Aussie dollar market on to its best monthly volume in over nine months.

SK Biopharmaceuticals is set to reopen the South Korean IPO market with a W959.3bn ($779.9m) listing, according to a source close to the deal.

Korea East-West Power Co (EWP) offered no new issue concession for its $500m bond on Monday, but still drew orders of close to $4bn. Its notes only tightened further in the secondary market, showing investors’ support for quality borrowers.

Kookmin Bank has become the first issuer from South Korea to sell an international public bond to combat the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. While virus-response deals are still just a tiny part of Asia’s debt market, bankers say it is set to grow.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea jumped on the floating rate note bandwagon on Monday, raising $700m from the market. It also added a euro tranche with a green label to its transaction.

SK E&S, a South Korean energy company, has raised HK$11.55bn ($1.49bn) by selling most of its shares in China Gas Holdings near the top of the marketed range.

South Korea's Shinhan Bank raised $500m from a Formosa bond on Wednesday, taking advantage of the strong interest from Taiwanese investors for its transaction. The borrower paid just 20bp in new issue premium.