S. Korea's bond sales grow 67 pct on-year in H1

By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's bond issuance surged 67.5 percent in the
first half of this year from a year earlier as local bond issuers scrambled to
raise liquidity amid an economic downturn, the Seoul bourse operator said
Thursday.
The government, state agencies and private companies issued a combined 356.84
trillion won (US$279.3 billion) worth of bonds between January and June, compared
with 213.07 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).
"The government and local firms sharply increased their debt sales as they tried
to weather a credit squeeze," the KRX said in the report.
The central and provincial governments sold 49.66 trillion won worth of bonds,
while state agencies issued 247.14 trillion won in debts. Private companies
floated bonds worth 59.64 trillion won, according to the KRX.
As of the end of June, the value of the nation's outstanding bonds stood at
980.88 trillion won, the KRX said.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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