This week (Feb. 23–27), 14 issuers will conduct book-building in the corporate bond market. From KT, an ultra-high-grade AAA name, to Lotte Corporation, whose credit rating was recently adjusted, are crowding in, and it is expected to be a watershed for gauging market liquidity conditions and the attractiveness of interest rates.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 22nd, the first to launch book-building is KT (AAA). KT will conduct book-building on the 23rd for a total of 150 billion won in corporate bonds. The issuance is on Mar. 4. Maturities are broadly structured from three to 20 years, and the company plans to upsize to as much as 300 billion won if demand is strong.
The financial structure is sound. The provisional operating margin for 2025 improved to 8.7% from a year earlier, and the liability ratio (123.3%) is also stable. However, the level of sanctions stemming from last year's leak of personal information of about 22,000 people and an unauthorized small-payment incident totaling 240 million won, as well as subscriber churn trends, are cited as variables.
LG Energy Solution (AA0), which postponed its schedule once, will conduct book-building on the 24th to raise up to 800 billion won. The base target is 400 billion won, with plans to increase the size depending on results. The tranches are structured as 140 billion won for two-year notes, 200 billion won for three-year, 30 billion won for five-year, and 30 billion won for 10-year.
All funds secured this time will first be used to repay existing debt, and if upsized, will also be used for operating capital. Attention is on whether the company will succeed in securing large-scale funds based on its solid credit rating despite changes in the electric vehicle market. The issuance is on Mar. 5.
The moves by Lotte Corporation (A+), returning to the corporate bond market for the first time in about two years, are also a key point to watch. Lotte Corporation will conduct book-building for 150 billion won on the 24th. The tranches are structured as 80 billion won for two-year notes and 70 billion won for three-year. The issuance is on Mar. 5.
This is the first appearance in the public offering market since the credit rating was lowered by one notch from "AA- (negative)" to "A+ (stable)" due to the fallout from Lotte Chemical's sluggish performance last year. To block the risk of unsold bonds, Lotte Corporation completed thorough preparations, including forming a syndicate of seven major brokerages such as NH Investment & Securities and KB Securities.
In addition, major corporations such as Hitejinro (A+), Hanwha Energy (A+), SK intellix (A+), Coway (AA-), SK geocentric (AA-), HL Holdings (A0), Hanwha (A+), Dong-A Socio Holdings (A0), LS Cable & System (A+), SeAH Holdings (A0), and Hansol Chemical (A+) are awaiting book-building this week.