NH Investment & Securities succeeded in issuing $600 million in foreign-currency bonds in the global bond market. It extended its record for the largest issuance among domestic securities firms and achieved the lowest-ever spread for the same maturity, confirming strong demand from global investors.
NH Investment & Securities said on the 23rd that through book building targeting institutional investors in Asia and Europe, it issued senior unsecured dollar bonds with 3-year and 5-year maturities at $300 million each, totaling $600 million.
This issuance is a new foreign-currency bond issuance of the largest size among domestic securities firms, following last year. The funds raised will be used to expand global business and for general operating capital.
The bonds were issued at fixed rates. The final coupons were set at 4.937% for the 3-year and 5.038% for the 5-year. The spreads over U.S. Treasurys were 70 bp (1 bp = 0.01 percentage point) and 75 bp, respectively. From the initial indications of 105 bp and 110 bp, strong investor demand narrowed both maturities by 35 bp.
With this issuance, NH Investment & Securities recorded the lowest-ever spread for dollar bonds of the same maturity among domestic securities firms. The new-issue premium was effectively priced at near zero.
Investor interest was strong. In the book-building process, a total of 196 institutions participated, placing orders of up to $4.6 billion. That is about 7.6 times the issuance size. Even at the final pricing stage, orders exceeding five times the issuance amount were maintained, marking a successful outcome.
The industry views the stable business structure of NH Investment & Securities, the competitiveness of its investment banking (IB) and asset management divisions, and its credibility as an affiliate of NongHyup Financial Group as factors that drew investor demand. NH Investment & Securities currently holds top-tier international credit ratings among domestic securities firms, including A3 from Moody's and A- from Standard & Poor's (S&P).
Ahead of the issuance, NH Investment & Securities expanded its touchpoints with overseas investors, including holding investor relations (IR) sessions for major institutional investors in Hong Kong and Taiwan in May.
Chief Executive Officer Yun Byung-un of NH Investment & Securities said, "This deal is all the more meaningful as it was achieved amid a challenging market environment of global interest rate uncertainty and geopolitical risks," adding, "Achieving the lowest-ever spread and securing orders from leading global investors confirms confidence in NH Investment & Securities' financial soundness."
He added, "Building on this issuance, we will further strengthen our global IB capabilities and take the lead in enhancing the status of the domestic capital market."