Korean fund-raising market turns tepid, debt offering nearly halved in Oct

South Korean corporate debt issues nearly halved in October from the previous month as financial and public issuers refrained from offerings to normalize the market unsettled by oversupply and default scare.

According to a report by the Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday, companies sold total 8.3 trillion won ($6.25 billion) worth of debts (19 times) in October, down 49.5 percent from a month earlier.

Of the total, 1.39 trillion won worth was issued in corporate bonds, gaining 21.78 percent on month for operating capitals. Issuance by financial institutions slid 54.7 percent to 6 trillion won worth, and asset-backed securities (ABS) issuance fell 55.9 percent to 911.2 billion won worth.

Outstanding balance in corporate debt was reduced to 629.89 trillion won as of the end of October, off 2.1 percent from the previous month.

Stock issuance also shrank 36.1 percent on month to 487.5 billion won with decreased initial public offerings and secondary offerings.