SEOUL, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Asset-backed securities (ABS) issuance in South Korea tumbled in the first half of this year, financial watchdog data showed on Friday.
ABS sales reached 27 trillion won (24 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-June period, down 43.9 percent from 48.2 trillion won in the same period of last year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issuance amounted to 14.6 trillion won in the first half, down 60.7 percent from 37.1 trillion won a year earlier. It contributed mainly to the overall ABS issuance fall.
However, ABS sales by credit card issuers and other credit companies surged 34.8 percent from a year earlier to 3.6 trillion won in the first half. Weak demand in corporate bond markets encouraged companies to raise funds in the ABS market.
ABS issued by telecom companies fell to 3.3 trillion won in the first half from 3.6 trillion won a year earlier.
