Corporate bond sales in South Korea posted a double-digit decline in August on rising expectations for the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hike, financial watchdog data showed on Thursday.
Bonds issued by industrial companies amounted to 340 billion won (306 million U.S. dollars) in August, all of which was sold by one company, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
The figure was down 75.6 percent from the previous month's 1.39 trillion won on expectations that the Fed would raise its policy rate within this year.
The U.S. central bank froze the policy rate last month, but it is widely expected for the Fed to hike rates. That would trigger higher interest rates in South Korea.
Financial institutions issued 5.64 trillion won worth of bonds, down 22.2 percent from a month earlier. Bonds issued by banks tumbled 44 percent, with issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) slumping 13.8 percent.
Outstanding corporate financing in the bond market reached 412. 79 trillion won as of end-August, up 0.2 percent from the previous month.
Equity financing, including initial public offering (IPO) and rights offering, reduced 19.0 percent from a month earlier to 508. 8 billion won in August.
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