S. Korea's bond sales drop 12.1 pct in May

SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's bond issuance dropped 12.1 percent in May
from a month earlier due mainly to a drop in corporate notes, the bourse operator
said Monday.

Local governments, state enterprises and private companies sold a combined 57.19
trillion won (US$46 billion) worth of bonds last month, compared with 65.05
trillion won in April, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).
The May decline came after private and state-owned firms reduced their debt
financing. They had rushed to the bond market in recent months to boost liquidity
in an effort to weather an economic downturn amid a freeze in other funding
sources.
As of the end of May, the value of the nation's outstanding bonds stood at 966.26
trillion won, up 17.57 trillion won from the previous month, the KRX said.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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