ID :
40674
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 16:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/40674
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Eximbank aims at raising US$7.2 bln abroad this year
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-owned trade bank said Wednesday it aims to raise US$7.2 billion this year in overseas markets in a bid to help local exporters cope with tight financing conditions.
"We plan to pursue two-track overseas funding down the road. We will sell
so-called G3 currency denominated bonds at an appropriate time and tap non-dollar
markets to diversify funding sources," Chin Dong-soo, chairman of the
Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank), told a press conference. G3 currencies
refer to the U.S. dollar, the euro and the yen.
His remarks come one day after the lender said it has sold $2 billion worth of
bonds to foreign investors, marking the biggest overseas debt offering since the
government issued $4 billion worth of currency stabilization bonds in 1998. The
lender also became the first local financial firm to issue global bonds in the
aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Local banks have had difficulty raising funds overseas as debt sales have frozen
amid the global financial turmoil.
The Eximbank also said it plans to provide a combined 47 trillion won ($34.9
billion) to local exporters this year. Exporters are struggling to cope with a
credit crunch and the slowing economy as overseas shipments, the mainstay of the
nation's economic growth, show signs of a sharp slowdown.
"The bank plans to expand the size of financial support by 17.5 percent this year
from a year earlier in a bid to help local exporters," Chin said.
The South Korean economy grew 0.5 percent in the third quarter from three months
earlier, the weakest growth in four years as exports faltered and domestic demand
remained sluggish. The country's central bank predicts the economy will expand
just 2 percent this year, down from an estimated 3.7 percent advance in 2008.
Most analysts predict economic growth will fall to the 1 percent range.
Exports, which account for about 60 percent of the economy, tumbled 17.4 percent
on-year in December after falling 19 percent the previous month as demand slumped
amid a global recession. The government expects the country's exports to grow a
mere one percent this year, the slowest pace in eight years.
The state-run bank said it will expand export financing for local plant and
vessel exporters and small and mid-sized trade companies and support overseas
resource development.
The government plans to invest in the bank by 950 billion won in an effort to
bolster the bank's capital adequacy ratio and expand its lending capacity.
The Eximbank's loans to smaller exporting firms accounted for 26.6 percent of the
lender's total lending in 2008.
"We plan to increase the portion to 28 percent this year in an effort to help
exporters better deal with the current economic difficulties," Chin added.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
"We plan to pursue two-track overseas funding down the road. We will sell
so-called G3 currency denominated bonds at an appropriate time and tap non-dollar
markets to diversify funding sources," Chin Dong-soo, chairman of the
Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank), told a press conference. G3 currencies
refer to the U.S. dollar, the euro and the yen.
His remarks come one day after the lender said it has sold $2 billion worth of
bonds to foreign investors, marking the biggest overseas debt offering since the
government issued $4 billion worth of currency stabilization bonds in 1998. The
lender also became the first local financial firm to issue global bonds in the
aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Local banks have had difficulty raising funds overseas as debt sales have frozen
amid the global financial turmoil.
The Eximbank also said it plans to provide a combined 47 trillion won ($34.9
billion) to local exporters this year. Exporters are struggling to cope with a
credit crunch and the slowing economy as overseas shipments, the mainstay of the
nation's economic growth, show signs of a sharp slowdown.
"The bank plans to expand the size of financial support by 17.5 percent this year
from a year earlier in a bid to help local exporters," Chin said.
The South Korean economy grew 0.5 percent in the third quarter from three months
earlier, the weakest growth in four years as exports faltered and domestic demand
remained sluggish. The country's central bank predicts the economy will expand
just 2 percent this year, down from an estimated 3.7 percent advance in 2008.
Most analysts predict economic growth will fall to the 1 percent range.
Exports, which account for about 60 percent of the economy, tumbled 17.4 percent
on-year in December after falling 19 percent the previous month as demand slumped
amid a global recession. The government expects the country's exports to grow a
mere one percent this year, the slowest pace in eight years.
The state-run bank said it will expand export financing for local plant and
vessel exporters and small and mid-sized trade companies and support overseas
resource development.
The government plans to invest in the bank by 950 billion won in an effort to
bolster the bank's capital adequacy ratio and expand its lending capacity.
The Eximbank's loans to smaller exporting firms accounted for 26.6 percent of the
lender's total lending in 2008.
"We plan to increase the portion to 28 percent this year in an effort to help
exporters better deal with the current economic difficulties," Chin added.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
