South Korea Bond Deal Snapped Up By Investors
South Korea's efforts to engineer an economic recovery received a shot in the arm yesterday when global investors turned out in droves to participate in the country's landmark $4 billion bond sale.</br></br>In addition to paving the way for more South Korean corporate bonds, the sale is expected to set the stage for billions of dollars in Asian bonds in the months ahead.</br></br>Searching for high-yielding bonds in an age of near-record-low bond yields, investors from around the globe showed strong demand for yesterday's two-part deal. Seoul sold $1 billion of five-year notes at a yield of 8.953%, or 3.45 percentage points above comparable U.S. Treasurys. Some $3 billion of 10-year securities were sold at a yield of 9.084%, or 3.55 percentage points above Treasurys.</br></br>Seoul was able to sell the bonds at a yield just below the level expected several days ago, underscoring strong demand for the bonds despite last week's downgrade of Japan's debt outlook by Moody's Investors Service Inc.</br></br>The bond sale was underwritten by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Salomon Smith Barney Inc.