This article appeared on Signal, the capital markets compass, at 2:05 p.m. on July 22, 2026.
NH Investment & Securities (005940.KS) is pursuing fundraising of up to 500 billion won from SK hynix (000660.KS). With investment demand shrinking amid rising market interest rates, brokerages have concluded that now — when SK hynix is deploying so-called "chip money" — is the right time to secure capital, and they have jumped into a competition to attract the funds.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 22nd, NH Investment & Securities submitted a securities registration statement to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on the 15th to issue public bonds of up to 500 billion won. The bonds carry a single three-year maturity and use a direct public offering method with no lead managers or underwriters. Under this structure, the institutional demand forecast is omitted and the issuer receives subscriptions directly from investors, simplifying the issuance process and saving time and costs.
This marks the first time NH Investment & Securities has issued corporate bonds through a direct public offering, and SK hynix is reported to be investing the entire amount. The company had consistently issued corporate bonds through the institutional demand forecast process, but as securing demand became difficult amid rising market interest rates, it turned to a big-ticket investor. According to the statement submitted by NH Investment & Securities, the individual fair-market yield on three-year bonds remained below 4% until April 14, but reached the 4.5% range as of the 13th of this month.
The market assessed the deal as one that also aligns with SK hynix's interests. SK hynix has participated in demand forecasts for brokerage bonds since last month, and it was found to have bid at levels similar to market rates. However, this approach has a drawback: if other institutional investors place orders at lower rates, SK hynix cannot obtain its target volume and price. For this reason, rather than participating in demand forecasts as an institutional investor, a structure that allows it to deploy funds without involving other investors can reduce uncertainty.
Brokerages have also determined that the current moment, with chip money pouring in, is the right time for fundraising, and they are competitively issuing bonds tailored to SK hynix. To prepare for the strengthened liquidity management regulations taking effect next year, brokerages need to extend the maturities of their held bonds, giving them strong incentives to attract SK hynix funds.
Mirae Asset Securities (006800.KS) is pursuing trillion-won-scale fundraising from SK hynix. Having secured 1.26 trillion won by issuing commercial paper (CP) with a maturity of more than one year for the first time ever, Mirae Asset Securities also plans to issue long-term CP worth 1.32 trillion won targeting SK hynix at the end of this month. KB Securities, which attracted SK hynix funds in last month's public bond demand forecast, is also reported to have reviewed whether to issue long-term CP.
