Hyundai Steel has decided to issue bonds worth up to 500 billion won and will begin a demand forecast on the 14th. Hyundai Steel had considered postponing the bond issuance schedule to February until recently but ultimately decided not to extend beyond this month.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 2nd, Hyundai Steel has recently selected KB Securities, NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, and Shinhan Investment Corp. as its lead underwriters and has begun preparations for the bond issuance.
Hyundai Steel has 640 billion won in bonds maturing this month. Maturities include 60 billion won on the 17th, 160 billion won on the 22nd, 100 billion won on the 23rd, and 320 billion won on the 25th.
Hyundai Steel has regularly issued bonds at the beginning of each year since 2007. With the exception of the bonds issued in February 2009, it has issued bonds every January due to high demand from institutional investors at the start of the year. High investment demand makes it relatively advantageous to lower the issuance interest rate.
Hyundai Steel has consistently maintained an "AA0, stable" credit rating since 2010 and since 2023 has received orders in the trillion won range during demand forecasts, confirming below-market interest rates. When it issued bonds worth 200 billion won in January 2023, it received orders totaling 1.805 trillion won and closed at -45 basis points for 2-year bonds, -53 basis points for 3-year bonds, and -70 basis points for 5-year bonds. Similarly, when it issued 300 billion won worth of bonds in January last year, there were orders amounting to 1.7 trillion won, closing at -3 basis points for both 2-year and 3-year bonds, and -8 basis points for 5-year bonds.
Hyundai Steel has issued bonds worth between 300 billion and 400 billion won each spring, with the amount reaching up to 500 billion won. However, last year, it also issued 300 billion won worth of bonds in the second half of the year, making it the first time in three years that bonds were issued in both the first and second halves of the year since 2021.