According to investment banking industry sources, SK Ecoplan attracted nearly 10 times oversubscription on a 100 billion won corporate bond offering this week, allowing the company to expand issuance to 200 billion won with yields 35–65 basis points below benchmark rates. Meanwhile, KCC secured over 6 times oversubscription on a 200 billion won offering with yields 4–5 basis points lower, while Lotte Chemical, despite receiving AAA ratings backed by commercial banks, saw only 1.6 times demand on a 200 billion won issuance with yields 35 basis points above benchmark.
The divergence reflects market selectivity based on company fundamentals and business conditions. Analysts attribute strong demand for SK Ecoplan to robust earnings and business restructuring toward AI infrastructure including semiconductor fabs and data centers. Conversely, investors remain cautious on Lotte Chemical due to perceived group-level discount. Market observers expect selective corporate bond investment to continue ahead of the Bank of Korea's August monetary policy decision.