ID :
99278
Mon, 01/11/2010 - 08:20
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https://www.oananews.org//node/99278
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S. Korean bond sales set record high in 2009
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's bond issuance reached the highest level on record in 2009 as the government and companies tapped deeper into the debt market to raise capital amid the global financial crisis, the bourse operator said Monday.
The government, the central bank and firms sold a total of 698.5 trillion won
(US$617 billion) worth of bonds last year, the highest ever for a year and up
71.9 percent from a year earlier, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said.
The massive debt offerings also pushed the value of the outstanding bonds to
1,014.2 trillion won as of the end of December, sending it past the 1,000
trillion won level for the first time ever, the KRX said.
After the global credit crunch, triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers,
froze bank loans and corporate cash earnings, companies scrambled to raise money
in the bond market with the government also boosting issuance to finance its
economic stimulus measures.
Amid the bullish bond trading, foreign investors purchased a net 52 trillion won
in Korean bonds last year, bringing their local debt holdings to 56.5 trillion
won at end-2009 from 37 trillion won a year earlier, according to the KRX.
Overseas investors held 5.5 percent of the total debts listed on the Seoul
bourse, higher than 4.3 percent the previous year.
Yields on government bonds returned to the pre-Lehman level last year due to
growing hopes of economic recovery and talks of a looming end to measures
introduced to spark a sluggish economy, the bourse operator said.
Returns on the benchmark five-year government bond stood at 4.92 percent as of
the end of December, up 1.15 percentage point from the same time the previous
year with interest rates on the three-year treasuries reaching 4.41 percent from
3.41 percent, the KRX said.
The central and regional government sold a combined 101.8 trillion won of bonds,
while the Bank of Korea floated 495.5 trillion won. Local firms together issued
100.8 trillion won of debt last year.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)
The government, the central bank and firms sold a total of 698.5 trillion won
(US$617 billion) worth of bonds last year, the highest ever for a year and up
71.9 percent from a year earlier, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said.
The massive debt offerings also pushed the value of the outstanding bonds to
1,014.2 trillion won as of the end of December, sending it past the 1,000
trillion won level for the first time ever, the KRX said.
After the global credit crunch, triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers,
froze bank loans and corporate cash earnings, companies scrambled to raise money
in the bond market with the government also boosting issuance to finance its
economic stimulus measures.
Amid the bullish bond trading, foreign investors purchased a net 52 trillion won
in Korean bonds last year, bringing their local debt holdings to 56.5 trillion
won at end-2009 from 37 trillion won a year earlier, according to the KRX.
Overseas investors held 5.5 percent of the total debts listed on the Seoul
bourse, higher than 4.3 percent the previous year.
Yields on government bonds returned to the pre-Lehman level last year due to
growing hopes of economic recovery and talks of a looming end to measures
introduced to spark a sluggish economy, the bourse operator said.
Returns on the benchmark five-year government bond stood at 4.92 percent as of
the end of December, up 1.15 percentage point from the same time the previous
year with interest rates on the three-year treasuries reaching 4.41 percent from
3.41 percent, the KRX said.
The central and regional government sold a combined 101.8 trillion won of bonds,
while the Bank of Korea floated 495.5 trillion won. Local firms together issued
100.8 trillion won of debt last year.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)
