Corporate direct financing surges in April on spike in debt sales

The headquarters of the Financial Supervisory Service in Yeouido, Seoul, is seen in this undated file photo. Yonhap

Corporate direct financing in Korea soared in April as companies heavily sold debt amid increased uncertainties stemming from U.S. tariffs, data showed Tuesday.

Local companies raised a combined 30.8 trillion won ($21.19 billion) last month by selling stocks and bonds, up 8.86 trillion won, or 41.2 percent, from the previous month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.

Stock sales fell by 20.4 percent on-month to 373 billion won last month, while share sales via initial public offerings dipped to 90.9 billion won from 169 billion won over the cited period.

Corporate bond sales surged 42.5 percent month-on-month to 30.43 trillion won.

The value of outstanding corporate bonds stood at 713.69 trillion won as of end-April, up 9.02 trillion won from a month earlier, the data showed.