South Korea is considering a sale of dollar- and euro-denominated bonds amid the best start to a year for sovereign debt since 2009.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy plans to meet investors in the U.S. and Europe from May 21 to discuss a possible offering, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday, asking not to be identified because the details are private. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government intends to price five-year dollar notes as soon as today, a separate person said.

Sovereign bonds in the U.S. currency from the region outside Japan have gained 7.65 percent since Dec. 31, the best performance for this period in five years, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. indexes. Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka have all sold debt in dollars since the end of 2013, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

South Korea was the most recent Asian nation to sell more than 100 million euros ($138 million) of notes, in November 2006 raising 375 million euros via 4.25 percent securities that mature in 2021.

Investors are likely to feel comfortable with Korean bonds, Chris Park, a senior credit officer at Moody’s Investors Service, said in Seoul today.

The country has shown resilience despite the U.S. Fed’s tapering, compared with other emerging economies.

South Korea plans to meet investors in Boston on May 21, New York on May 22, Paris on May 23, Amsterdam on May 26, Frankfurt on May 27 and London on May 28, the person with knowledge of the deal said.

Tokyo Metropolitan is marketing its notes at 38 basis points more than mid swaps, the other person said. (Bloomberg)