Seoul aims to raise US$1.3bil in dollar bond sale

Broader demand: A pedestrian walking past a shop in the Dongseongro shopping district in Daegu, South Korea. Seoul is offering the notes to investors to provide more stability to the secondary market interest rates. — Bloomberg

SEOUL: South Korea is planning to raise as much as US$1.3bil in a dollar bond sale to set a stable reference rate for local companies, just as their own issuance climbs near a record.

The government is offering the notes to investors such as other governments and central banks that tend to hold securities longer, providing more stability to secondary market interest rates, according to a statement from the finance ministry.