South Korea to expand corporate-bond buying program

SEOUL: South Korea’s financial authorities will raise the ceiling for their corporate bond-buying facility to 16 trillion won ($11 billion) from the current 8 trillion won, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said on Sunday.

The measure is aimed at easing concerns of a liquidity crunch in corporate bond and short-term money markets, Choo said after a meeting with top financial officials, including the Bank of Korea governor and financial regulatory agency chief.

Commercial paper issued by securities firms will be included in the facility’s purchase list, while an additional 3 trillion won of liquidity will be supplied by the Korea Securities Finance Corporation for securities firms experiencing temporary liquidity shortages, he said.