Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Naver, KB Card successfully issue foreign currency ESG bonds
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By Anna J. Park
By Anna J. Park
Naver has recently issued an additional $300 million in foreign currency ESG-themed bonds, following its previous issuance of $500 million in foreign currency debt in March.
Naver's successful five-year “reopening” ― referring to the issuance of additional debt on a previous bond in financial terminology ― of $300 million in foreign currency debt was the first of its kind for a Korean commercial company on the bond market. So far, the reopening of bonds has seen limited use by a few state-run companies or state-run banks here.
The total bond value at $800 million is also the highest among all local companies. The strong trust in the internet-tech giant led to the demand for, and success of, the 2026 maturity bond, which far exceeded Naver's original goal of raising around $200 million.
By region, 88 percent of the bond demand for ― and subsequent allocation to ― came from Asia, while the rest was from Europe. By financial company categories, asset managers accounted for 66 percent, while banks and private bankers took up 33 percent, and insurers and other investors took the rest.
“The success of the reopening reaffirmed investors' trust towards Naver's ESG management,” said Park Sang-jin, chief financial official (CFO) at Naver Corp. “Naver will make every effort to ensure sustainable and social investment,” the CFO added.
KB Kookmin Card has also recently issued five-year ESG-themed foreign currency bonds worth $300 million. Considering that most local card companies still raise dollars through asset-backed securities (ABSs), KB Kookmin's issuance of dollar-denominated bonds is regarded as a leading successful example of raising foreign currency capital through debt among credit card companies in Korea.
Since Shinhan Card issued foreign currency debt worth $400 million for the first time among local card issuers, Korean credit card companies' interest in foreign currency bonds has been piqued.
What is noteworthy is that more such companies are joining the move toward issuing ESG-themed bonds. The green and sustainability bonds are issued for special purposes such as raising capital for more public interest investments, such as eco-friendly improvements, renewable energy development and providing support for financially-weak groups of people.
During the first quarter of this year, local card companies issued ESG-themed debt in Korean won denominated bonds worth over one trillion won.