With domestic and overseas stock markets booming last year, issuance of equity-linked securities (ELS), including equity-linked bonds (ELB), rose 25.5% from the previous year.
According to Korea Securities Depository (KSD) on the 21st, ELS issuance last year totaled 69.36 trillion won. Of the total issuance, public offerings accounted for 89.7% and private placements 10.3%. Public offering issuance increased 22.9% from a year earlier, and private placement issuance also rose 54.1% over the same period.
Issue-type ELS with domestic stocks as underlying assets totaled 36.7662 trillion won, about half (53%) of total issuance. Domestic and overseas index-type ELS came to 24.6612 trillion won.
Issuance of ELS linked to major domestic and overseas indexes also increased. ELS that include the S&P 500 and EURO STOXX 50 were issued in the amounts of 16.39 trillion won and 14.3 trillion won, respectively. ELS that include the KOSPI200 totaled 23.27 trillion won.
The top five securities firms—Korea Investment & Securities Co., Mirae Asset Securities, Hana Securities, Shinhan Investment & Securities, and NH Investment & Securities—issued 33.5501 trillion won in ELS, accounting for 48.4% of the total.
ELS redemptions last year totaled 61.49 trillion won, down 13.4% from the previous year. As of the end of last year, outstanding ELS stood at 59.47 trillion won, up 15.3% from a year earlier.