이 기사는 2019년 10월 28일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Korea Southern Power (KOSPO) has sold 300 million Australian dollar Kangaroo bonds.

The state-run electric power supplier ran pricing process in the Australian market on October 23. The issue was structured as a five-year fixed rate notes (FRN) single tranche. The settlement date is October 30.

After the pricing process, the issuance rate has been set at 97 basis points plus the three-month bank bill swap rate (BBSW). KOSPO originally set initial price guidance (IPG) at 100 basis points over BBSW.

The proceeds of the bond sale will be used for operating funds, including overseas investments. BNP Paribas, HSBC and Nomura Securities acted as joint bookrunners.

For the latest bond issuance, the power supplier established 2 billion Australian dollar global medium-term note (MTN) program, ratings assigned by Moody's. So far KOSPO has concentrated on issuing U.S. dollar-denominated bonds in Korean Paper markets. Korean Paper refers to foreign currency-denominated securities sold abroad by South Korean entities. Last year, KOSPO had prepared the issuance of Swiss franc-denominated bonds targeting early this year, but later scrapped the plan.

Kangaroo bonds refer to debt denominated in Australian dollars and issued by non-resident companies and financial institutions in the Australian financial market. They are mainly sold in Singapore, Japan, Europe and Hong Kong. The Australian bond market is one of the most conservative markets with about 90 percent of the overall issuance sold by higher than AA-rated financial institutions.

KOSPO has a rating of Aa2 by credit ratings agency Moody's and AA- by Fitch.

(By reporter Pi Hye-rim)