Asiana Airlines to issue 100 bln won in bonds with warrants

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, March 19 (Yonhap) -- Asiana Airlines, South Korea's second-largest air
carrier, said Thursday that it will sell bonds with warrants worth 100 billion
won (US$71.7 million) later this month to prop up its financial health.

The bonds, to be sold from March 25-26, carry a coupon rate of 7 percent and will
mature in three years, Asiana Airlines said in a statement. Bonds with warrants
are a debt instrument which gives holders the right to buy new shares.
Shares of Asiana Airlines rose 1.97 percent to 3,630 won as of 10:40 a.m. on the
Seoul bourse.
In an effort to bolster its financial profile, Asiana Airlines, a unit of Kumho
Asiana Group, also plans to secure 711.3 billion won during the first half of the
year through a capital reduction of Korea Express Co., a logistics unit of the
group.
The airline spent 1.4 trillion won in February last year, when the group bought
Korea Express for 4.1 trillion won. Asiana Airlines holds a 24 percent stake in
the logistics company.
Asiana Airlines is targeting 4.5 trillion won in sales this year and is hoping to
turn itself around if oil prices and the local currency remain favorable.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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