Seoul, Jul 24 (IANS): South Korean companies' direct financing through issuing stocks and bonds dropped 10.2 percent in the first half of this year due to Europe's fiscal crisis and economic downturn in the US and China, a financial watchdog said Tuesday.

Corporate financing through public offers such as equity issuance and bond sales amounted to 66.12 trillion won ($57.7 billion) during the January-June period, down 10.2 percent from the same period of last year, reported Xinhua citing the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The first-half decline was attributed to weak demand for funds stemming from the European fiscal crisis and concerns over economic slump in the US and China. Volatility in the local stock market also contributed to weak demand for facility investment by domestic companies, the watchdog said.

Equity financing, including initial public offering (IPO) and rights offering, came in at 914.3 billion won in the first half, down 86.3 percent from the same period of last year.

Debt financing, or bonds issued by industrial companies and financial firms, stood at 65.2 trillion won for the first six months of 2012, down 2.6 percent from a year before, according to the FSS.