SEOUL, January 13 (AJP) - POSCO, South Korea’s largest steelmaker, has completed its first U.S. dollar–denominated public bond sale of the year, becoming the first South Korean company to tap the global dollar bond market in 2026.
The company said Tuesday that it raised $700 million through a two-part offering comprising $400 million of five-year notes and $300 million of 10-year notes.
POSCO initially marketed the bonds at spreads of about 1.15 percentage points over U.S. Treasurys for the five-year tranche and 1.30 points for the 10-year notes. Strong demand during bookbuilding drew more than $6.6 billion in orders from over 180 institutional investors — more than nine times the deal size — allowing the company to tighten pricing.
The final spreads narrowed by 0.4 percentage points to 0.75 points for the five-year notes and 0.90 points for the 10-year tranche.
The offering came amid heightened geopolitical risks and volatility in global financial markets. POSCO conducted investor meetings in New York, Boston and London in November, followed by briefings for major investors in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore in January, as it sought to build demand ahead of the transaction.
Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings rate POSCO at Baa1 and A-, respectively, reflecting the company’s solid market position, POSCO said.
POSCO said it plans to use the proceeds primarily to refinance existing debt. “Based on a stable financial structure, we will continue to maintain trust in the global financial markets,” a company official said.
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