April Direct Corporate Financing Reaches 22.6 Trillion Won, Up from Previous Month

Stock Issuance Decreases, Both IPOs and Paid-in Capital Increases Decline
General Corporate Bond Issuance Down, While Financial Bonds and ABS Rise

In April, the total amount raised through public offerings of stocks and corporate bonds increased by more than 13%, driven by a rise in corporate bond issuance.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's "Direct Financing Results of Companies in April 2026," released on June 2, the total amount raised through public offerings of stocks and corporate bonds in April was KRW 22.6157 trillion, up 13.2% from the previous month.

Of this, the amount raised through stock issuance was KRW 413.6 billion (8 cases), a decrease of 6.04% compared to the previous month (KRW 440.2 billion, 16 cases). The scale of initial public offerings (IPOs) fell from KRW 210.4 billion (9 cases) to KRW 157.7 billion (4 cases) during the same period, and rights offerings decreased from KRW 229.9 billion (7 cases) to KRW 225.9 billion (4 cases). In April, both IPOs and rights offerings were conducted exclusively on the KOSDAQ market.

The amount of corporate bond issuance in April was KRW 22.2021 trillion (366 cases), up 13.6% from March (KRW 19.543 trillion, 337 cases). The scale of general corporate bond issuance decreased, but the issuance of financial bonds and asset-backed securities (ABS) increased.

During the same period, the issuance of general corporate bonds declined from KRW 4.781 trillion (49 cases) to KRW 4.174 trillion (43 cases). Most of the medium-term bonds with AA ratings or higher were issued for refinancing purposes. Bonds issued for refinancing accounted for 78.6% of the total, AA-rated or higher issuances made up 79.9%, and medium-term bonds accounted for 94.0%.

The scale of financial bond issuance increased from KRW 13.4424 trillion (208 cases) in March to KRW 16.6743 trillion (226 cases) in April. Over the same period, the scale of bank bond issuance rose from KRW 3.36 trillion (20 cases) to KRW 6.3294 trillion (35 cases), while other financial bonds increased from KRW 8.9324 trillion (182 cases) to KRW 9.3449 trillion (182 cases). Issuance of financial holding company bonds decreased from KRW 1.15 trillion (6 cases) to KRW 1 trillion (9 cases).

In April, the volume of ABS issuance also jumped 2.6% to KRW 1.3538 trillion (97 cases), compared to the previous month (KRW 1.3196 trillion, 80 cases). By type, the issuance of primary collateralized bond obligations (P-CBOs) shrank from KRW 571.6 billion (8 cases) to KRW 267.2 billion (8 cases), while general ABS increased from KRW 748 billion (72 cases) to KRW 1.0866 trillion (89 cases). By asset holder, ABS issued by financial companies decreased from KRW 1.0066 trillion (22 cases) to KRW 648.8 billion (21 cases), while ABS issued by general corporates increased from KRW 313 billion (58 cases) to KRW 705 billion (76 cases).

Meanwhile, at the end of April, the outstanding balance of corporate bonds stood at KRW 745.2807 trillion, down 0.3% from the previous month's KRW 747.3152 trillion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.