March Corporate Fundraising 16 Trillion Won... 6% Decrease from February Amid COVID-19-Induced Financial Market Uncertainty Expansion

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Eun-mo] Last month, the capital raising performance of companies through stocks and corporate bonds decreased compared to February. This is interpreted as a result of the expanded uncertainty in domestic and international financial markets due to the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 28th, the total amount raised by companies through public offerings in March was 16.1155 trillion KRW, a decrease of 1.0213 trillion KRW compared to the previous month.

Specifically, the scale of stock issuance was 8 cases, 469.2 billion KRW, an increase of 230.8 billion KRW (96.8%) compared to the previous month. Initial public offerings (IPOs) were made in 5 cases on the KOSDAQ market, including Seoul Viosys, PlayD, and NPD, recording 103.2 billion KRW. The amount decreased by 34.9 billion KRW compared to February.

Paid-in capital increases were 3 cases, 366 billion KRW, an increase of 265.7 billion KRW (264.9%) compared to the previous month. HDC Hyundai Development Company (320.7 billion KRW) conducted a large-scale paid-in capital increase, which increased the issuance amount compared to the previous month.

The amount of corporate bonds issued was 15.6463 trillion KRW, a decrease of 1.2521 trillion KRW (7.4%) compared to February. Woori Bank issued the largest amount of 1.8469 trillion KRW, followed by Kookmin Bank (1.8073 trillion KRW), Shinhan Bank (1.6203 trillion KRW), Hana Bank (1.0688 trillion KRW), and S-Oil (680 billion KRW).

Among these, general corporate bonds were 22 cases, 2.634 trillion KRW, a decrease of 4.013 trillion KRW (60.4%) compared to the previous month. Issuance focused on medium- to long-term bonds for debt repayment purposes continued, and by credit rating, the proportion of AA grade or higher decreased by 26.6 percentage points compared to the previous month, but the proportion of A grade or lower increased.

Financial bonds were issued in 149 cases, totaling 11.2239 trillion KRW, an increase of 1.8309 trillion KRW (19.5%) compared to February. Financial holding company bonds were 1 case, 50 billion KRW, decreasing by 97.4% during the same period, and bank bonds were 33 cases, 7.2089 trillion KRW, increasing by 232.2%. Other financial bonds were 115 cases, 3.965 trillion KRW, decreasing by 25.4%.

Asset-backed securities (ABS) were 103 cases, 1.7884 trillion KRW, an increase of 108.3%. Primary collateralized bond obligations (P-CBO), which had no issuance performance in February, were issued in 4 cases, 175.9 billion KRW. P-CBOs are ABS issued with credit enhancement by credit guarantee funds to facilitate funding for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commercial paper (CP) and short-term bond issuance totaled 133.2178 trillion KRW, an increase of 6.3969 trillion KRW compared to the previous month. CP issuance was 32.7337 trillion KRW, increasing by 4.6168 trillion KRW (16.4%) compared to February, and short-term bonds were 100.4842 trillion KRW, increasing by 1.7802 trillion KRW (1.8%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.