"Roadshow Tour Across U.S. and Europe"... Korea-U.S. Investment Corporation Begins First Overseas Bond Issuance

Visit New York, Washington, London and Luxembourg to attract investment
"Two teams for the U.S. and Europe will visit major cities"

The Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation will visit major cities in the United States and Europe next month to hold a roadshow aimed at attracting foreign investors. It has begun work in earnest on issuing foreign-currency bonds, which will help finance some of the U.S. investment spending, capped at $20 billion annually.

According to relevant government ministries on October 28, the Korea-U.S. Investment Corporation will visit major cities in the United States and Europe, including New York, Washington, London and Luxembourg, next month to seek investment from institutional investors and others. The roadshow is part of preparations for the corporation's first overseas bond issuance since its establishment. It has assembled a working team to issue foreign-currency bonds, including a former finance executive from Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and held a kickoff meeting on October 26. A senior government official said, "The schedule is tight, so we plan to split into two teams, one for the United States and one for Europe, and visit four cities."

The corporation is pursuing an initial overseas bond issuance worth $1 billion to $2 billion, targeting January 2027. The first tranche is expected to consist entirely of U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. It plans to issue up to $7 billion annually and broaden its investor base by diversifying its funding currencies, including through dollar- or euro-denominated bonds in major financial markets around the world, including the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It has also completed the selection of lead managers for the issuance, including JPMorgan.

The corporation recently received ratings of Aa2 from Moody's and AA from Standard & Poor's (S&P), each the third-highest among 10 investment-grade ratings. These are the same ratings as the South Korean government. It plans to make its case to overseas investors by emphasizing that it is an unprecedented model: a government-guaranteed bond issuer that is also a policy finance institution investing in the U.S. infrastructure market. Its challenge, however, will be to explain to investors the background behind the establishment of this new type of institution dedicated to U.S. investment and the expected benefits.

The corporation was launched in June 2026 to oversee and manage the government's U.S. investment. In addition to the 2 trillion won in capital contributed by the government, it can secure investment funds through foreign-exchange reserve management earnings, bond issuance and borrowing from financial institutions. The government has set the sovereign guarantee ceiling for Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Bonds at $7 billion for 2027. If funds for U.S. investment are raised through overseas bond issuance, the impact on the domestic foreign-exchange market and on the exchange rate (won depreciation) will be smaller than if dollars were purchased by converting won in the domestic spot market. A government official said, "If large-scale funds for U.S. investment are raised by converting won in the domestic spot market, a surge in dollar demand could push up the exchange rate. But if dollars are raised through foreign-currency bonds in overseas markets and invested directly in the United States, the impact on the domestic foreign-exchange market can be contained."

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