Corporate direct financing in South Korea climbed 11.1 percent on-year in the first half of this year, as more companies tapped the bond market to raise funds, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 138.3 trillion won (US$99.4 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in the first half, up 13.7 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Corporate stock sales jumped 85.5 percent on-year to 5 trillion won, while the value of initial public offerings stood at 1.5 trillion won. Bond offerings rose 9.4 percent on-year to 133 trillion won in the first half, the data showed. Source: Yonhap News Agency