The Korea Herald

지나쌤

KDB said to plan sale of Samurai bonds

By Korea Herald

Published : May 20, 2012 - 19:51

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Korea Development Bank plans to tap the Japanese bond market following Thursday’s record Samurai offering by its peer state-owned lender Export-Import Bank of Korea, said a person familiar with the matter.

KDB, whose parent is the nation’s largest state-owned banking group, is planning a sale of yen-denominated bonds as soon as early June, the person said, asking not to be identified as details are private. Banks have been asked to submit proposals to arrange the offering and KDB is expected to choose the underwriters this week, according to the person.

The lender has 72.6 billion yen of Samurai notes maturing in June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Park Chan Ho, Seoul-based KDB’s spokesman, was not available to take two calls to his office Friday seeking comment on the sale plan.

Export-Import Bank of Korea, known as Exim, set a record for a South Korean borrower with 100 billion yen ($1.2 billion) of Samurai debt, doubling the sale amount from 50 billion yen planned initially, according to a statement from the lender.

Korean Samurai bonds gained 0.16 percent this month while yen debt offerings from U.S. borrowers lost 0.11 percent, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch bond indexes.

KDB last sold 53.7 yen of Samurai bonds in October in a four-part sale, Bloomberg data show. The offering included 47 billion yen of 1.3 percent one-year notes priced to yield 90 basis points more than the yen swap rate, according to the data. (Bloomberg)