Kepco re-charges debt markets

A $650 million five-year fixed rate issue for the Korean Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) was priced in London yesterday (Thursday) at a slim premium to the Korea Development Bank (KDB), the Republic's benchmark sovereign proxy. The new deal also marks a key benchmark for Kepco, which has not accessed the dollar market since March 2000, but has now successfully completed its first public transaction without a KDB guarantee. To price flat to its existing curve (it has a 2027 put 2007 outstanding) was therefore remarkable and particularly in the context of volatile debt and equity markets.