KDB to issue Yuan-Bond

State-owned big lender, Korea Development Bank (KDB), is going to issue Yuan-denominated bonds to fund operations in China, allowing the lender to take a first step among the nation’s financial sectors into Yuan territory.
KDB told on Sunday Dow Jones Newswire it would issue Yuan-denominated ‘panda’ bond and it will be sold by a foreign issuer to Chinese investors. KDB has selected book runners for a dim sum bond–bonds denominated in Yuan and issued in Hong Kong.
If successful, KDB will be the first Korean financial firm to issue Yuan-denominated debt.
The bank didn’t reveal further details of the size and timing of the bond offering, but Dow Jones Newswires Monday reported that KDB has named Deutsche Bank and HSBC as book runners for the dim sum bond.
The bank's raising money target will be about $150 million through the offering, according to the report. But the timing, tenor and size of the offering have yet to be fixed.
Market watchers see that the amount is not so big but it show Asia investors are willing to follow the footsteps of U.S. firms like McDonald’s and Caterpillar into Hong Kong to meet their Yuan needs.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com