S. Korean firms abandon dollar debt to tap record-low rates at home

SINGAPORE: South Korean companies are shunning international bond markets in favour of local-currency borrowing, shielding themselves from higher US interest rates and the deepest won slump in four years.

Foreign-currency issuance totaled US$5.59bil over the past three months, the slowest quarter in almost three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Domestic corporate bond sales were 55.3 trillion won (US$47bil) in the same period, on track for the busiest 12 months since 2012, as onshore borrowing costs slid to record lows.