Seoul: Corporate direct financing in South Korea soared 16.5 percent in February from a month earlier on increased bond sales, data showed Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, local companies raised a combined 28 trillion won (US$19.1 billion) last month by selling stocks and bonds, marking an increase of 3.98 trillion won from the previous month. The surge in financing was primarily driven by a significant rise in corporate bond sales.
Despite the overall increase in direct financing, stock sales experienced a decline, dropping to 443 billion won in February from the previous month's 739 billion won. Share sales via initial public offerings also saw a decrease, dipping to 205 billion won from 728 billion won over the same period.
In contrast, corporate bond sales saw an on-month increase of 18.3 percent, reaching 27.56 trillion won last month. This surge in bond sales contributed to the higher corporate direct financing figures for February.
The value of outstanding corporate bonds stood at 701.69 trillion won as of the end of February, which is an increase of 4.47 trillion won from a year earlier, highlighting a growing trend in debt issuance among South Korean companies.