S. Korean bond sales soar 23 pct in 2020
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- Bond issuance in South Korea shot up more than 23 percent in 2020 due to a surge in government debt sales to tackle the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Monday.
The value of bonds issued in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 844.7 trillion won (US$774 billion) in 2020, up 23.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association.
The spike was attributed to sharply increased sales of state and special-purpose bonds designed to help cushion the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Sales of government bonds soared 43.8 percent on-year to 238.3 trillion won, with the issuance of financial bonds, including special bank bonds, climbing 23 percent to 236.1 trillion won.
Corporate bond sales also expanded 6.7 percent to 97.8 trillion won as companies rushed to secure funds amid the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
As of end-2020, the value of outstanding bonds stood at 2,261.3 trillion won, compared with 2,015.4 trillion won a year earlier.
Foreign investors owned 150.1 trillion won worth of South Korean bonds as of end-December, up 21.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data.
(END)
-
1 (News Focus) S. Korea drums up measures to revive consumption, create jobs next year amid pandemic
-
2 S. Korean companies bet big on hydrogen for zero-emission goal
-
3 S. Koreans feel pinch of rising housing costs amid economic downturn
-
4 Korean Air's Asiana takeover heralds seismic shift; bumpy roads lie ahead for completion
-
5 (News Focus) Biden's victory heralds more multilateral approach, environment, pro-labor policies in focus