South Korea to sell 4tr won in Treasury bills in July

South Korea plans to sell 4 trillion won (US$3.5 billion) worth of Treasury bills in four separate auctions in July, the finance ministry said Friday.

"The funds generated will be used to cover temporary shortfalls in the money supply and allow the government to push forward various spending projects," the ministry said. "The cash generated can further help stabilize the management of state-controlled funds."

The amount to be issued is smaller than the 4.5 trillion won worth of bills sold throughout June.

The bills will be sold through competitive bidding, with 23 banks, brokerages and financial institutions that already buy the government's monetary stabilization bonds to handle the transactions.

The ministry said the outstanding amount of Treasury bills should stand at 8.5 trillion won by the end of this month, down from 10 trillion won tallied for late June. The government plans to buy back 5.5 trillion won worth of bonds it issued earlier within the month.