South Korean companies’ direct financing slumped 33 percent in July from the previous month due mainly to a fall in stock issuances and banks’ debt sales, the financial regulator said Tuesday. Local firms raised 8.48 trillion won (US$7.83 billion) by issuing stocks and bonds in July, compared with 12.71 trillion won a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). In the January-July period, local companies’ direct financing reached 82.1 trillion won, up 10.5 percent from the same period last year, it added. In July, corporate share issuance stood at 370.4 billion won, down 69 percent from the previous month, while sales of corporate bonds declined 29.5 percent to 8.1 trillion won, the regulator said. “Share issuances declined following the first-half settlement. Demand for bank bonds also fell amid a rise in banks’ deposits,” the FSS said.