IBK to sell US$1 bln in foreign currency bonds

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-run Industrial Bank of Korea
(IBK) said Thursday it plans to raise US$1 billion throught the sale of foreign
currency bonds in a bid to repay its maturing debts.
The lender said the bonds will mature in five years and carry an interest rate of
between 5 and 5.12 percentage points above the London Inter-bank Offered Rate.
The final results will be announced early Friday, it added.
South Korea's foreign currency liquidity situation has recently improved as local
banks beef up efforts to borrow from overseas and the country's current account
balance returns to the black.
Hana Bank, the country's No. 4 lender, raised $1 billion by selling
government-guaranteed bonds early this month, becoming the first local lender to
tap into a state debt guarantee program.
A week ago, the government issued $3 billion in dollar-denominated currency
stabilization bonds, the first state debt sale since November 2006.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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