South Korea

Korea Development Bank made a billion-dollar outing in the global bond market, and got away with offering very little premium to investors wooed by its safe haven status.

South Korean conglomerate Lotte has kicked off bookbuilding for a real estate investment trust IPO, marking the first float attempt in the country since Homeplus Stores pulled its billion-dollar Reit listing earlier this year.

Mattress maker Zinus is planning to launch its up to W271.9bn ($228.8m) IPO in South Korea in October, according to a source close to the deal.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) turned to the Taiwanese market to raise Australian dollars, after finding a receptive audience for the currency.

Korean National Oil Company (KNOC) this week delivered the first post-summer Swiss franc bond from Korea, achieving a record low yield despite coming just ahead of a Swiss National Bank (SNB) policy announcement.

South Korean semiconductor manufacturer SK Hynix had to get over a number of hurdles for its $500m bond issuance, but a complicated price discovery process ended with the notes being in hot demand both in the primary and secondary markets. Addison Gong reports.

Investors chased South Korean semiconductor manufacturer SK Hynix’s $500m bonds both in the primary and secondary markets, even though the borrower pulled off one of the largest price reductions on a deal from the country.

Asia’s IPO market burst into life this month, with issuers in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines testing investor appetite for their listings. While the resurgence is welcome after a bleak year for issuance so far, it is likely to be short lived, with a lot also resting on early movers’ performances.

South Korean energy company SK E&S Co has bagged HK$5.1bn ($650.7m) after selling a block of shares in China Gas Holdings, a source close to the deal told GlobalCapital Asia.

South Korea’s Hyundai Capital Services pulled a dollar bond sale on Tuesday due to poor market conditions. Bankers away from the transaction blamed the failure on excess supply in the US.

Korean Air Lines Co returned to the policy bank-guarantee structure for its latest offshore bond this week, raising $300m at a favourable price.

South Korean conglomerate Lotte has filed documents for the IPO of a real estate investment trust (REIT), looking to raise up to W430bn ($353m).