Seoul: South Korea has successfully issued 1.4 billion euros (US$1.6 billion) worth of foreign exchange equalization bonds, marking the country's largest euro-denominated offering to date, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday. This issuance is the first under the new Lee Jae Myung administration and the first euro-denominated issuance since 2021.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the issuance consists of two tranches: 700 million euros in three-year bonds carrying an interest rate of 2.305 percent and another 700 million euros in seven-year bonds with an interest rate of 2.908 percent. The ministry highlighted that this is the country's first dual-tranche issuance of euro-denominated foreign exchange equalization bonds.
A ministry official stated, "In a time of heightened external uncertainty, this timely issuance has allowed us to bolster foreign exchange reserves and secure funding early for this year's bond redemptions." The government also mentioned that it plans further issuances in the second half of the year, depending on market conditions, within the remaining ceiling of $1.9 billion out of the $3.5 billion approved by the National Assembly.