SEOUL, KOREA - Korea Development Bank said on May 19 that it issued on the 16th kangaroo bonds worth US$370 million. Kangaroo bonds are bonds that are issued in the Australian market by non-Australian firms and is denominated in Australian currency. They are thus subject to Australian laws and regulations.

 

The five-year-and-a-half bonds consist of adjustable rate bonds of 200 million Australian dollars at an interest rate 1.10 percentage points higher than the bank bill swap rate and another $200 million AUD fixed-rate bonds at a rate 1.10 percentage points higher than the Australian mid-swap rate.

 

A Korea Development Bank official said, "Even though this was the first bonds issued by a Korean financial institution whose expiration date in excess of five years, they attracted huge interest among Australian investors. We had to increase the issuing volume to A$400 million from originally scheduled A$300 million." "With the issue of kangaroo bonds, we could reduce the reliance on the G3 markets including the US dollar, euro, and Japanese yen," he added. The underwriters for the latest deal were ANZ Bank, National Australia Bank, and UBS.