KDB first to tap bond market after sovereign upgrade

Policy bank Korea Development Bank KDB was first out of the gate on Wednesday, tapping investors with its inaugural 10-year dollar bond. The $750 million bond followed shortly after Moody’s upgraded the Korean sovereign to Aa3 from A1 last week. KDB, along with a number of other state-owned institutions were also upgraded and, capitalising on this, the policy bank swiftly launched a trade, taking advantage of the liquidity in the market to widen its investor base and push out an aggressive print.

“We definitely saw new investors to Korean paper and KDB in the book, mostly from the sovereign supra agencies,” said one person familiar with the deal. “A...