Korea Electric Power Corporation Kepco and the Republic of the Philippines met with very contrasting receptions on the launch of new benchmark transactions yesterday Thursday. Where the former had a relatively smooth passage to market, the latter fell prey to overly ambitious expectations that Japanese investors refused to deliver.
The Philippines' inability to launch a market-friendly offering repeats a pattern that has become ever more evident with each passing deal and serves only to further infuriate an already exasperated investor base. Having launched a highly controversial offering in dollars in February and a failed deal in euros two months later, the Republic had been hoping to...
