Kookmin Bank

The share price of Doosan Fuel Cell Co, a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group, nosedived on Tuesday after affiliates of the parent raised a smaller-than-expected W198.6bn ($171.1m) from a block trade.

South Korean game developer Kakao Games is preparing to open a two-day subscription period for its IPO, after pricing the stock at the top of the marketed range.

Tight trading levels will make covered bonds an attractive asset class for statement trades and issuers outside of the euro area, but market participants say that this is unlikely to be enough to lift overall supply volumes out of the doldrums in the second half of 2020.

Kookmin Bank has priced its debut euro covered bond flat to where its higher rated compatriot, Korea Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC) would have been expected to come. The deal was said to have attracted additional demand due to its social theme, spurring hopes that further similar issuance would follow.

Kookmin Bank is expected to surface later this week with its first euro covered bond which will fund social housing. The deal is to emerge amid mounting concern that diminishing supply, rising redemptions and aggressive central bank buying will cause an unprecedented technical squeeze in the covered bond market.

Syndicate bankers are scrambling to make sense of the covered bond market, where sentiment has been changeable in recent weeks. Amid volatility and small issuance windows, sustainable bonds have proven a safe strategy to ensure successful deals.

Berlin Hyp left ‘a little bit on the table’ with its new green covered bond on Tuesday. The trade was followed by deal announcements from Kookmin Bank and Sparebank Vest Boligkreditt, both looking to issue in sustainable format.

Bank of America became the first global commercial bank to print a Covid-19 response bond this week.

Kookmin Bank has become the first issuer from South Korea to sell an international public bond to combat the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. While virus-response deals are still just a tiny part of Asia’s debt market, bankers say it is set to grow.

South Korea’s Kookmin Bank has sold its maiden dollar-denominated Basel III compliant additional tier one bond, opting for a sustainability label to entice investors.

Asia’s sustainability market took a big step forward this week when Kookmin Bank priced a Basel III-compliant tier two bond with a sustainability label — the first of its kind in the region. Morgan Davis reports.

‘Tier two’ and ‘sustainability’ are labels that have never previously been combined in Asia. At least not until this week, when Kookmin Bank raised $450m from a Basel III-compliant deal.