SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean companies' direct financing marginally declined in September from a month earlier as companies scaled back their debt sales, the financial watchdog said Monday.

Local firms raised 10.4 trillion won (US$9 billion) by issuing stocks and bonds last month, down 27.7 billion won from August, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

In the January-September period, however, local companies' direct financing jumped 10.6 percent on-year to 102.9 trillion won, it added.

Corporate bond issuances slipped 0.3 percent on-month to 10.3 trillion in September, due mainly to a fall in bank bond sales, the FSS said.

The issuance of asset-backed securities also fell 44.1 percent on-month to 579.5 billion won, it added. Asset-backed securities are bonds or notes backed by assets consisting of debt obligations such as car loans, home equity loans, credit card receivables and student loans.

Corporate share issuances reached 109 billion won, up 0.7 percent from the previous month, on increased rights offerings, the watchdog said.

Companies' initial public offerings, however, slowed last month as firms postponed going public amid lingering global uncertainties, according to the FSS.