이 기사는 2021년 09월 13일 07시54분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korea’s government postponed a sale of foreign exchange stabilization fund bonds to next month from this month amid the Covid-19 pandemic, disrupting local companies’ plans to issue debt.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance postponed a book building process to issue the foreign currency-denominated bonds worth up to $1.5 billion to October from the initially scheduled mid-September.

The issuance should be completed this year as the deadline approved by the National Assembly last year is the end of this year.

The decision made by the ministry is largely due to its planned roadshow, which was expected to be held on a face-to-face basis. As overseas trips are restricted due to the spread of the Delta variant, the ministry decided to push back the sale and proceed with its planned face-to-face roadshow.

Domestic companies have paid attention to the timing of the foreign exchange stabilization fund bond sale as the sale will affect a “window” they obtained from the ministry. The window refers to the date and duration of the foreign currency-denominated bond sale book building given by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which is usually two-day long.

With the ministry’s bond sale delayed, domestic companies’ bond issuance is expected to pick up steam again as they can avoid the timing of the foreign exchange stabilization fund bonds.

The ministry is likely to be criticized for postponing its bond sale as it perplexed domestic companies’ planning to raise money in overseas bond markets. It also seems to have focused on overseas visits instead of raising funds itself amid the pandemic situation.

A total of 375 million euro worth of the foreign exchange stabilization fund bonds are scheduled to mature this year, raising doubts whether the sale is really appropriate. (Reporting by Hye-rim Pi)