[THE INVESTOR] The Finance Ministry said on Oct. 10 that the 50-year Treasury, the longest-ever dated state bonds to be floated later this week for the first time, will be sold at a rate of 1.574 percent.

The rate was 4 basis points higher than the 1.534 percent for the benchmark 10-year Treasurys, the average of three previous trading sessions according to the ministry.

The first-ever sales of Treasurys with a maturity of 50 years worth 1.1 trillion (US$990 million) will take place on Oct. 11, some four years after the government first launched the 30-year Treasury.

In August, the government decided to sell state bonds that mature in 50 years, saying that the country’s fiscal health and strong macroeconomic fundamentals can help it successfully sell the 50-year bonds.

The South Korean government currently sells five types of state bonds with maturities ranging from three-year debts to 30-year bonds, with those with a maturity of three years and five years accounting for 46 percent of the total bond sales.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)