Korea to sell W300b worth of 50-year state bonds

South Korea will sell 300 billion won ($260.8 million) worth of the longest 50-year state bonds next month in a bid to meet growing market demand for safer assets, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

“When we first introduced the longest Treasury last year, we planned to float some 1 trillion won in 2017,” Vice Finance Minister Song Eon-seog told reporters in a briefing in Sejong. “The first batch of 300 billion won will be put on auction in late March.”

(Yonhap)

The detailed timing and the amount of the planned issue of 50-year state bonds will be unveiled later this week, he added.

Last year, the South Korean government sold 1.1 trillion won worth of Treasurys with a maturity of 50 years for the first time on the back of its fiscal health and strong macroeconomic fundamentals.

“The auction for the 50-year Treasury was successful,” said Song. “Market players have agreed to issue more.”

The government plans to sell a combined 103.7 trillion won worth of Treasurys next year, down 5.8 percent from this year‘s estimated 110 trillion won. (Yonhap)