The Export-Import Bank of Korea plans to issue dollar-denominated bonds to raise $3 billion to $4 billion to help finance Korean companies seeking to expand overseas through exports, a person familiar with the situation said.

The scale of debt financing through global bonds this year, the person said, will be similar to that of last year when the bank raised about $5 billion.

It will likely select about five to six U.S. and Europe-based advisors such as investment banks for dollar-denominated bond issues, the person noted, without specifying a timeline. However, it will send requests for proposals to select global advisors for its dollar bond issues.

This comes after the export credit agency announced that it would expand its debt financing as part of efforts to raise $12 billion in total this year. It recently secured 750 million euros ($820 million) through issuances of three-year euro bonds with a yield of 0.406 percent. Its advisors were Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Societe Generale and UBS.

“The agency is considering raising funds also through inter-bank loans, in addition to issuing G-3 bonds denominated in U.S. dollars, euros and Japanese yen,” said the person.

“The funds will be used to support not only Korean manufacturers but also companies in the ‘creative economic sector’ as part of the government’s efforts to boost its creative industry.”

Besides fundraising in G-3 bonds, the agency is expected to issue bonds denominated in Australian dollars in “small scale,” and swap Australian dollars into global key currency of U.S. dollars for export-oriented Korean companies trading goods with counterparts in the U.S., China and Europe.

Last year, the agency secured about $13 billion through debt financing. Moody’s raised Korea Eximbank’s credit rating from Aa3 to Aa2 in December last year.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)