□ On June 28, Korea Eximbank (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Yong Hwan Kim) announced that the bank became the first Asian institution to issue the Samurai Bond after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

* Samurai Bond: a yen-denominated bond issued by foreign institutions in the Japanese market

○ The bond was issued with 2-, 3-, and 5-year maturity periods and totaled JPY 80 billion, the largest issue amount by a Korean institution.

○ The bond was issued at a rate of 1%, the lowest rate among Korean bonds since the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008. In fact, the bond was 50bp lower than other Korean bonds.

□ An official from Korea Eximbank stated, “The issuance volume of Samurai Bonds decreased sharply in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and radiation leaks. Korea Eximbank promoted issuance of the bond because the bank successfully recognized the market trend that there was an abundance of local liquidity but very little in terms of adequate investment opportunities.”

□ Despite the low interest rate, investment orders were high due to strong fundamentals of the Korean economy and as a result, Korea Eximbank increased the issuance volume from JPY 40 billion to JPY80 billion (equivalent to USD 1 billion).

○ Korea Eximbank demonstrated that large-scale financing on par with USD global bond volumes is possible in the Japanese capital market. As such, more Korean institutions are anticipated to issue Samurai bonds.

□ The latest Samurai Bond issuance was the first time in four years by Korea Eximbank.

□ Korea Eximbank will support overseas market expansion of Korean companies through plant export and resource development with the funds secured through the recent bond issuance.