South Korea

Abundant supply, a diverse crop of issuers and some rare long-tenor deals characterised Asia’s bond market ahead of the week-long Chinese New Year holiday, setting the stage for a positive February. Addison Gong reports.

‘Tier two’ and ‘sustainability’ are labels that have never previously been combined in Asia. At least not until this week, when Kookmin Bank raised $450m from a Basel III-compliant deal.

South Korean discount store chain Homeplus is set to launch a real estate investment trust IPO next month, according to a source close to the deal.

Korea Western Power (Kowepo) chose an appropriate week to launch the first ever green bond in Swiss francs from an emerging market issuer – and not just because sustainability was high on the agenda at Davos. The deal also came in a week in which representatives from the IFC and the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) met in Bern to discuss the results of a consultation on impact investing among more than 100 members of the Association of Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF).

South Korea’s KEB Hana Bank has locked up a dual-tranche sustainability bond at zero new issue premium, appealing to investors with its strong credit story and rarity value in the public dollar market.

Samsung BioLogics has caught a break after a South Korean court suspended the disciplinary action brought against the company by the country’s financial regulator for alleged accounting fraud.

South Korea’s Suhyup Bank returned to the international bond market on Tuesday after a near five year hiatus to raise $300m.

Korea National Oil Corp’s debut in the Japanese yen market on Wednesday was one to remember. The deal was the largest single-tranche Samurai bond on record in Asia, despite a rise in tensions between the two countries.

South Korea’s Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co brought its maiden dollar bond to the market on Tuesday, appealing to investors with its strong credentials and scarcity value.

Hyosung Vina Chemicals is holding bank presentations and a site visit at the end of January to woo lenders with a $750m syndicated financing that has been relaunched with a smaller size, higher margins and a different bookrunning team.

Investors flocked to Korea Midland Power Co’s (Komipo) green bond on Monday, funnelling $3bn of orders into a $300m deal that offered a quality credit and an attractive tenor to the buy side.

South Korea’s third largest life insurer, Kyobo Life Insurance, has lined up three firms to lead its IPO, according to a source working on the deal.