Secures demand from global investors, achieves successful debut in overseas capital markets
Attracts orders four times the offering size, validating business competitiveness and growth potential
Strengthens position as a global blue-chip issuer with a stable portfolio spanning energy, materials, and agro
On the 23rd, POSCO INTERNATIONAL (CEO Lee Kye-In) issued its first global bond since its founding, making a successful debut in the global capital markets.
This bond was issued as a single tranche of USD 500 million with a five-year maturity, and the final issuance rate was fixed at 90 bps over the five-year U.S. Treasury yield. With the total order book reaching USD 2 billion, which is four times the issuance amount, the bond was priced 30 bps tighter than the initial price guidance (IPG).
This issuance is significant as it marks the company’s first independently issued global bond in the overseas capital markets. Despite heightened volatility in global financial markets amid recent tensions in the Middle East, the company successfully secured strong demand from large-scale investors, earning widespread recognition from global investors for its business competitiveness and growth potential.
Ahead of the issuance, the company held investor presentations and global conference calls for major institutional investors in the United States, Europe, and Asia. During these sessions, it highlighted its well-balanced business portfolio across energy, materials, and agro, as well as its stable revenue structure and role as a core affiliate of the POSCO Group. Investors showed strong interest in the company’s business stability and growth prospects, resulting in orders totaling four times the offering size.
In particular, investors paid close attention to the company’s growth strategy, which focuses on its energy and agro businesses. POSCO INTERNATIONAL is strengthening its competitiveness across the LNG value chain by expanding the production capacity of Senex Energy in Australia, while accelerating the growth of its global food business, centered on PT.PAR, its Indonesian palm business subsidiary.
The funds raised through the issuance will be used to repay existing foreign currency borrowings and for general corporate purposes. By region, investors from Asia accounted for 67%, followed by the U.S. at 27% and Europe at 6%. By investor type, asset managers accounted for 65%, banks for 33%, and other investors for 2%. It is notable that U.S. investors accounted for 27% of the total despite this being the company’s debut issuance. The strong participation from U.S. investors, who represent the world’s largest bond investor base, demonstrates that POSCO INTERNATIONAL’s creditworthiness is widely recognized among core investors. This solid foundation is expected to support the company’s efforts to secure a stable overseas funding base going forward.
The issuance was jointly led by BNP Paribas, Citi, Crédit Agricole, HSBC, Mizuho, and Korea Development Bank as joint bookrunners. Global credit rating agencies S&P and Moody’s assigned investment-grade ratings of BBB and Baa2, respectively, to POSCO INTERNATIONAL’s U.S. dollar-denominated bonds.
“This global bond issuance reflects the recognition of our competitiveness and growth potential in overseas capital markets,” a POSCO INTERNATIONAL official stated. “We will build a stable financing system by diversifying our funding currencies and expanding our overseas investor base, while further strengthening our position as a global blue-chip issuer.”
Meanwhile, POSCO INTERNATIONAL plans to use this opportunity to expand engagement with global capital markets and continue strengthening its overseas investor base. The company also plans to reinforce its future growth foundation across its energy, materials, and agro businesses while enhancing its competitiveness as a global integrated corporation.
▲ POSCO INTERNATIONAL’s headquarters in Songdo.