Korea Exchange Revamps Dedicated Segment for SRI Bonds to Meet Information Demand and Improve Convenience

Launching New Content Discovery and Improving Existing Content

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The Korea Exchange announced on the 29th that it has revamped the ‘SRI Bond Dedicated Segment’ to make information on Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) bonds listed in the bond market more accessible to investors and issuing institutions.

SRI bonds refer to bonds whose raised funds are used for projects that have a positive environmental or social impact, including green bonds, social bonds, and sustainability bonds. This segment revamp was driven by growing social interest in environmental issues and sustainable growth, as well as increased demand for information on related financial products. In fact, the average monthly visits to the SRI bond dedicated segment increased 4.5 times from 2,571 last year to 11,636 by the end of October this year.

(Provided by Korea Exchange)

The revamp plan includes measures to discover new content to meet the information needs of investors and issuing companies and to improve user convenience. New content will be created to support smooth issuance and registration tasks for SRI bond issuers and underwriters, such as SRI bond issuance structures, issuance cases by type, and issuance checklists. Additionally, information on deregistered bonds in the dedicated segment and SRI bonds issued overseas by domestic companies will be provided, and a market trend webzine aimed at expanding the market base will be offered quarterly starting next year.

Existing content will also be improved. Usage reports of raised funds will be provided by submission timing to help investors more easily monitor the use of funds by bond issuers. Post-issuance reports will be categorized as initial, interim, and final according to the extent of fund usage. Furthermore, content in the bond introduction menu will be supplemented to enhance users’ understanding of the SRI bond market.

A Korea Exchange official stated, “This revamp plan is expected to contribute to expanding the market base by providing various information so that potential investors in the SRI bond market and companies preparing for issuance can understand and grasp the market at a glance. We will continue to enhance content in line with the increasing demand for information on the rapidly growing SRI bond market even after this revamp.”