KEPCO raises $368 mn via bond issuance on heated demand

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) saw on Nov. 27 around 1.7 trillion won ($1.3 billion) worth of investor bids for its bond issuance targeting 400 billion won. Financial constraints in South Korea show signs of easing as KEPCO’s AAA-rated bonds heated investor interest.

On Monday, the state-run power company held a bid for 300 billion won worth of bonds with a two-year maturity and 100 billion won bonds with a three-year maturity.

KEPCO issued 330 billion won worth of two-year bonds, with 1.15 trillion won worth of buy orders from investors. For three-year bonds, the company increased the issuance value to 160 billion won as investors placed buy orders worth 580 billion won.

The two-year bonds' interest rate per annum was set at 5.34%, while the three-year bond rate was determined at 5.35%.

The rates slid from 5.60% for two-year bonds and 5.65% for three-year bonds in its second bidding on Nov. 22, in which Hana Bank, Kookimin Bank and Woori Bank participated. KEPCO selected Woori as the institutional lender.

Bond investment sentiment is recovering as Korea’s central bank slows its tightening pace. Korea Asset Management Corp., the state-run company that resolves financial firms’ non-performing loans and conducts corporate restructuring, saw 880 billion won worth of buy orders from investors in bidding for 100 billion won bonds on Nov. 25.

Write to Hyun-Ju Jang at blacksea@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.