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South Korea taps euro bond market as orders clear €2.7 billion

South Korea plans a €1.7 billion euro-denominated bond sale after orders topped €2.7 billion, testing overseas demand as euro funding gains renewed attention.

Published about 2 hours ago
marketscreener

South Korea plans 1.7 billion-euro bond sale as orders top 2.7 billion euros

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South Korea plans 1.7 billion-euro bond sale as orders top 2.7 billion euros

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South Korea taps euro bond market as orders clear €2.7 billion
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A euro book opens above the target

South Korea moved to sell €1.7 billion of euro-denominated government bonds on Wednesday, with investor orders topping €2.7 billion, according to a term sheet reported by Reuters and republished by MarketScreener and TradingView.marketscreener +1 The planned deal is split across three- and seven-year maturities, and the total size is roughly $1.9 billion at the exchange rate cited in the term sheet.tradingview

The timing gives Seoul a fresh read on overseas demand for Korean sovereign risk after a volatile first half for Asian assets. Investing.com, citing market coverage of the transaction, described the sale as coming ahead of the usual issuance schedule and aimed at strengthening foreign-currency reserves.za

Euro funding has a broader tailwind

The choice of currency matters because euro funding has regained attention among global borrowers. The European Central Bank’s latest annual review said the euro’s international role remained broadly stable in 2024, with its composite share across indicators around 19%, while the currency kept its position as the world’s second most important international currency.ecb

The same ECB review said international loans and bonds denominated in euros rose more than 40% in 2024 to nearly $900 billion, their highest combined level since the global financial crisis.ecb South Korea had already leaned into that market last year, raising €1.4 billion in what KED Global described as the country’s largest-ever euro-denominated sovereign debt issuance.kedglobal

Domestic borrowing stays heavy

The overseas sale sits alongside a busy local issuance calendar. South Korea’s finance ministry planned to sell 16 trillion won, or about $10.4 billion, of Treasury bonds through July auctions, according to a Reuters item carried by TradingView.tradingview

The government has also used foreign-currency debt to manage its reserve profile. A finance ministry release said Seoul successfully issued $3 billion of dollar-denominated Foreign Exchange Equalization Fund bonds in February, split between $1 billion of three-year notes and $2 billion of five-year notes.english

For investors, the euro deal is a narrow but useful signal: demand exceeded the target size, yet the order book was not a blowout. It lands after Reuters reported that foreign investors sold a record amount of Asian equities in June, including $12.63 billion from South Korea, as crowded AI trades and regional risk appetite came under pressure.reuters