S. Korean corporate bond sales soar 149 pct in May

By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, June 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's corporate bond issuance soared 149
percent on-year in May as companies scurried to raise liquidity amid an economic
downturn, the nation's securities depository said Tuesday.

Local companies sold 8.63 trillion won (US$7 billion) worth of debts last month,
compared with 3.46 trillion won a year earlier, the Korea Securities Depository
said in a report.
The firms paid back 2.33 trillion won in bonds last month, bringing their net
debt sales to 6.3 trillion won, the depository said.
The South Korean economy, Asia's fourth-largest, remains swamped amid a prolonged
global downturn, putting a growing number of companies in financial straits.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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