[Edaily Marketin KIM YEON-SEO Reporter] In the corporate bond market this week, three companies—SK REIT (AA-), SK GeoCentric (AA-), and Taihan Cable & Solution (A0)—are conducting bookbuilding for public offerings of corporate bonds. While institutional funds have recently been pouring into the corporate bond market overall, a conservative investment stance persists toward the petrochemical sector, drawing attention to whether SK GeoCentric—which carries a “negative” rating outlook—will be able to secure sufficient demand.

According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 13th, SK REIT, Taihan Cable & Solution, and SK GeoCentric will conduct bookbuilding among institutional investors in the public corporate bond market this week (September 14–18).

SK REIT will begin its bookbuilding on the 14th with a total issuance size of 100 billion won, structured into tranches (maturities) including a 1-year tranche of 40 billion won and a 2-year tranche of 60 billion won. Depending on the results of the bookbuilding, the company plans to increase the issuance amount to a maximum of 150 billion won. NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, SamsungSecurities, Korea Investment & Securities, and SKSecurities are serving as lead underwriters.

Taihan Cable & Solution will raise a total of 40 billion won on the 15th, including 20 billion won in 2-year notes and 20 billion won in 3-year notes. Depending on institutional demand, the issuance amount may be increased to a maximum of 80 billion won. The lead underwriters are KB Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES, and DaishinSecurities.

The most notable issuer is SK GeoCentric. On the 15th, SK GeoCentric will conduct a book-building process for corporate bonds totaling 70 billion won, comprising 40 billion won in 2-year bonds and 30 billion won in 3-year bonds. Depending on the results of the book-building, the company plans to increase the issuance amount to a maximum of 140 billion won.

SK GeoCentric’s credit rating is “AA-,” which falls within the investment-grade category, but its outlook is rated “negative.” A negative outlook typically indicates a possibility of a credit rating downgrade within the next one to two years. With the slump in the petrochemical industry dragging on and downward pressure on creditworthiness mounting, attention is focused on how much demand institutional investors will generate.

SK GeoCentric recorded sales of 9.8976 trillion won last year, a 13.9% decrease from the previous year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) turned from a 147.8 billion won profit in 2024 to a 46.2 billion won loss last year. However, performance has shown signs of improvement this year. First-quarter sales reached 2.9063 trillion won, a 7.3% increase compared to the same period last year. EBITDA also reached 159 billion won, marking a return to profitability after a 52.5 billion won deficit in the first quarter of last year.

Han Min-soo, a senior researcher at Korea Ratings Corporation, predicted, “While earnings volatility will continue for the time being due to escalating geopolitical risks, full-year earnings are expected to improve compared to last year, driven by strong first-half performance.”

He added, “In the short term, we need to monitor whether the positive earnings trend and the easing of financial burdens continue,” and noted, “As the domestic petrochemical industry undergoes restructuring, we plan to monitor whether operating performance improves and to what extent financial burdens are alleviated through asset sales.”