Korea Investment & Securities Co. said on the 27th that it solely arranged and underwrote the public kimchi bond issuance by KB Kookmin Card totaling $130 million (about 187.5 billion won), completing the offering. This is the largest kimchi bond solely underwritten by a domestic securities firm for a specialized credit finance company.
A kimchi bond refers to a bond issued in foreign currency in the domestic market. The KB Kookmin Card kimchi bond is a single tranche with a two-year maturity and was priced at a spread of 80 basis points (1 bp = 0.01 percentage point) over the U.S. risk-free rate, the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), a risk-free benchmark backed by U.S. Treasurys.
Korea Investment & Securities Co. noted that the issuance is meaningful in that, despite heightened volatility in global financial markets, the firm solely underwrote the entire offering and met $130 million in demand based on KB Kookmin Card's credit profile.
All proceeds will be used as working capital, including payments to merchants, contributing to KB Kookmin Card's stable liquidity.
A Korea Investment & Securities Co. official said, "We will continue to lead the market by providing optimized funding solutions tailored to the needs of corporate clients."