South Korea

Temasek Holdings pocketed W902bn ($793m) from its second sell-down in South Korea’s Celltrion this year, after pricing it at the investor-friendly end of the range.

Ion Investments has launched a block sale of South Korea-listed Celltrion stock, targeting proceeds of up to W865bn ($764.6m).

The pricing achieved by Doosan Power Systems on its $300m capital bond is being viewed by some as “against all fundamental logic”, given the strong market technicals for high quality and shorter-dated South Korean paper.

Kookmin Bank issued the first sustainability bond from a South Korean financial institution on Tuesday, raising $300m from a deal that was covered more than six times.

Korea Development Bank hopped into the Australian dollar market on October 12, selling an A$400m ($284m) Kangaroo bond. Despite the volatility in the market earlier in the week, KDB had little trouble sealing the popular deal.

Investors could not get enough of Korea Expressway Corp’s (KEC) dollar bonds on Monday, as it closed its deal more than 12 times oversubscribed.

South Korea’s Lotte Tour Development has raked in W215.8bn ($191.3m) after wrapping an oversubscribed rights issue.

South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo E&C) is tapping the offshore market for a $100m term loan.

Hyundai Oilbank, a subsidiary of South Korean shipbuilding firm Hyundai Heavy Industries, is expected to delay its IPO until 2019, according to a banker working on the deal.

Chinese stock markets led the decline among all major Asian indices on Monday, as woes in the region’s bond market also continued. Debt issuers aiming to kick off their deals this week have their work cut out for them.

South Korea’s IPO market is struggling to gain momentum, buffeted by a drop in the benchmark equity index and an increase in surveillance of listing hopefuls by the financial regulator. With the market expected to remain fragile, caution appears to be the way to go, writes Jonathan Breen.

Hanwha General Insurance’s failed attempt at a tier two dollar bond last week shows that not all South Korean credits can win over investors, as the buy-side looks at the country’s insurance borrowers with a lack of enthusiasm and a healthy dose of scepticism. With more Korean insurers set to hit the market, it’s time they reassess their approach to fundraisings.