S. Korea's direct financing drops 11.8 pct in May

By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean companies' direct financing shrank 11.8
percent in May from a month earlier as fewer firms issued bonds, the nation's
financial watchdog said Tuesday.

Local companies and banks raised a combined 9.69 trillion won (US$7.6 billion) in
May by selling stocks and bonds, compared with 10.99 trillion won the previous
month, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a report.
Debt sales stood at 8.45 trillion won last month, down 18.6 percent from April,
while equity financing jumped 105.8 percent to 1.24 trillion won, according to
the FSS.
The overall drop came as firms reduced debt issuance following heavy sales in the
January-March period. Cash-strapped local firms scurried to raise money in the
first quarter in an effort to weather the global economic slowdown.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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