KDB sells $1bn dual-tranche global bonds to fund COVID-19 corporate relief

The Korea Development Bank has raised $1 billion in dual-tranche global bonds to fund COVID-19 corporate relief programs on favourable borrowing conditions amid still-hot foreign demand for Korean sovereign bonds.

The quasi-state debt in $500 million with three-year maturity was priced at 0.585%, or 40 basis points above the US Treasury of the same date. The offering of $500 million due in April 2026 was priced at 0.852%, or 52.5 basis points over the five-year US Treasury note. The bond offering was oversubscribed by 3.6 times.

Underwriters were Bank of America, Citibank, Credit Agricole, Mizuho, and KDB Asia. KDB plans to use the proceeds to help Korean firms cushion the shock from the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and fund its overseas projects.

Another state lender, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, sold $1.5 billion in global bonds last month in benign terms after the Korean sovereign debt issue of $1.45 billion at the cheapest terms earlier in September.