Issuance
Overview
Issuance (發行) refers to the act of newly creating and presenting to the market or the public objects that carry legal or economic value, such as securities, currency, bonds, bills of exchange, publications, and postage stamps. In a narrow sense, it denotes the capital-raising process of creating financial instruments such as stocks and bonds in a form that can be sold to investors; in a broad sense, it also encompasses printing and distributing publications such as newspapers, magazines, and books, or the supply of currency by a central bank. Issuance is not a mere act of production but a complex economic activity intertwined with the issuing entity, the terms of issuance, legal regulation, and relations with the circulation market.
Main Content
Securities Issuance
Securities issuance is the process by which a company or government newly creates stocks or bonds and sells them to investors in order to raise funds. The first appearance of securities on the market is called an initial public offering (IPO), and subsequent additional issuance is classified as a paid-in capital increase or corporate bond issuance. Issuance methods include public offerings targeting general investors and private placements sold to specific parties, and, depending on the pricing method, fixed-price issuance and competitive bidding through demand forecasting. The lead manager (underwriting syndicate) handling the issuance designs the issuance terms and collects and allocates subscriptions.
Currency Issuance
Currency issuance is the act by which a central bank supplies legal tender to the market, and it has a direct effect on the money supply and prices. The Bank of Korea supplies reserve money, while banknotes and coins are manufactured through the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation, and the volume issued is adjusted with the goals of price stability and economic adjustment. Currency issuance is also connected to public finance in that it generates seigniorage (issuance profit).
Publication Issuance
In the publishing field, issuance refers to completing an edited and produced manuscript in printed or electronic form and distributing it to readers. The publisher bears legal responsibility for the content of the publication, and administrative procedures such as ISBN assignment, legal deposit, and price marking follow. In the case of newspapers and magazines, the publication cycle and circulation (print run) are used as indicators of advertising rates and credibility.
Primary Market and Secondary Market
The securities market is divided into the primary market, where funds are raised for the first time, and the secondary market, where already-issued securities are traded among investors. The primary market supplies new capital to companies, while the secondary market provides liquidity and price discovery. The two markets operate in a mutually complementary way, and a virtuous cycle appears in which the higher the liquidity of the secondary market, the lower the cost of issuance.
Latest Trends
In the 2024–2025 issuance environment, digitalization and regulatory reform are key keywords. First, as the security token offering (STO) system has come under serious discussion, a new method of dividing real assets into small units for issuance and circulation has emerged. Second, the IPO market has repeatedly risen and fallen according to interest rate fluctuations and investor sentiment, and the competition rate in demand forecasting and the lock-up agreement ratio have become key variables in determining the offering price. Third, as research on central bank digital currency (CBDC) expands, the concept of currency issuance is shifting from the physical to the digital realm. Fourth, in the publishing field, e-book and audiobook issuance is increasing, and as self-publishing (independent publishing) platforms spread, the barriers to entry for issuance have fallen significantly. Fifth, ESG bond and green bond issuance has grown into a major means of global fundraising, and disclosure obligations and verification standards are trending toward strengthening.
Related Topics
- [[Securities]]
- [[Initial Public Offering]]
- [[Bonds]]
- [[Central Bank]]
- [[Publishing]]
- [[Security Token]]
- [[Capital Market]]