Export-Import Bank of Korea, South Korea’s biggest seller of overseas bonds, started marketing this year’s first dollar security from an Asian borrower. The state-owned lender began selling notes maturing in five years, and 10 years and three months to investors today, said Lee Seung Keon, who leads the debt capital market team at Export-Import Bank, otherwise known as Kexim. “Each one is benchmark-sized,� he said in a telephone interview from Seoul, which typically means at least $500 million. “The five-year bonds will be priced around 325 basis points over Treasuries, and the longer dated ones at 315 to 320 basis points� more than U.S. debt, Lee said. Kexim announced the sale shortly before the Philippine government started selling 25-year bonds with a coupon of about 5.25 percent, according to a person who declined to be identified because the details are private. The South Korean bank last sold a benchmark dollar bond in September when it raised $1 billion from a 4.375 percent ten- year note, Bloomberg data show. The notes were yielding 4.75 percent as of 14.22 p.m. in Hong Kong, according to prices from BNP Paribas SA. Kexim has $11.3 billion of debt maturing this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. BNP Paribas, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc, and Royal Bank of Scotland Plc are arranging the sale, according to a person familiar with the transaction who didn’t want to be identified because the matter is confidential. To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Evans in Hong Kong at revans43@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shelley Smith at ssmith118@bloomberg.net

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