South Korean brokerage firm Mirae Asset Daewoo has simultaneously issued a three-year dollar-denominated, socially responsible investment bond and five-year senior notes, the firm said Tuesday.

This makes Mirae Asset Daewoo the first among global securities firms to successfully issue a three-year overseas SRI bond while issuing both types of bonds at the same time. 

SRI bonds are a type of bonds with proceeds earmarked for socially beneficial or environmentally friendly projects.

Proceeds from the issued bonds will therefore be used to fund projects for eco-friendly buildings, housing for low-income families and support for small and medium enterprises, according to the firm.

Senior notes refer to bonds that take precedence over other unsecured notes in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation.

A total of $600 million were issued in the form of dual-tranche bonds overseas, according to Mirae Asset Daewoo.

The firm received bids from 254 global institutions, worth nearly $7 billion, almost seven times larger than the issued volume. It raised a total of nearly $1.8 billion for the three-year bond and $2.3 billion for the five-year notes.

The bonds especially drew avid interest from European and Asian investors, the firm said.

Mirae Asset Daewoo also decided to adjust the spread of the three-year bond to 25 basis points and the 5-year note to 112.5 basis points each, which is 25 basis points and 27.5 basis points lower from the initially suggested basis points, respectively.

The brokerage house said the latest bond issue indicated that it has earned the trust of global investors, highlighting its success in the overseas bond market, which is only open to those with a sovereign credit rating.

The latest announcement marks the second time Mirae Asset Daewoo has issued overseas bonds, after it issued a dollar-denominated bond worth $300 million in November last year -- the first time a South Korean brokerage firm issued overseas bonds.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)