S. Korea's asset-backed securities issuance posts double-digit growth in Q1

　　SEOUL, April 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's asset-backed securities (ABS) issuance posted a double-digit growth in the first quarter due to solid demand for mortgage-backed securities (MBS), financial watchdog data showed Thursday.

　　The ABS issuance stood at 11.35 trillion won (7.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-March quarter, up 36.0 percent compared to the same quarter of 2025, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

　　The issuance of MBS, sold by the state-owned Korea Housing Finance Corp. to securitize mortgage loans, surged 92.0 percent from a year earlier to 5.08 trillion won (3.4 billion dollars) in the first quarter.

　　The ABS sales by financial companies jumped 51.7 percent to 4.64 trillion won (3.1 billion dollars) owing to expanded issuance based on credit card receivables and installment sales receivables.

　　Issuance by non-financial companies plunged 38.5 percent to 1.62 trillion won (1.1 billion dollars) on the back of lower demand for the securities backed by real estate project financing (PF).

　　Outstanding ABS issuance totaled 243.9 trillion won (165.1 billion dollars) at the end of March, down 2.8 percent from a year earlier. ■