S. Korea's direct financing down 33 pct in July

SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean companies' direct financing slumped 33 percent in July from the previous month due mainly to a fall in stock issuances and banks' debt sales, the financial regulator said Tuesday. Local firms raised 8.48 trillion won (US$7.83 billion) by issuing stocks and bonds in July, compared with 12.71 trillion won a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). In the January-July period, local companies' direct financing reached 82.1 trillion won, up 10.5 percent from the same period last year, it added. In July, corporate share issuance stood at 370.4 billion won, down 69 percent from the previous month, while sales of corporate bonds declined 29.5 percent to 8.1 trillion won, the regulator said. "Share issuances declined following the first-half settlement. Demand for bank bonds also fell amid a rise in banks' deposits," the FSS said. Bank deposits have been trending higher this year thanks to an increase in savings deposits, which rose by 9.4 trillion won in July, up from a 6.3 trillion won increase registered in June, according to the FSS. Of the corporate bonds issued in July, those by large corporations accounted for 99.9 percent, while the remainder were sold by small and medium enterprises, it added.