Sales of bonds in Asian emerging- market currencies will reportedly help South Korean companies cut their funding costs this year as investors speculate an exchange-rate appreciation.

Quoting JP Morgan Chase, Bloomberg news agency reported on Tuesday that amid investors' rising interests in Asian currencies, highly rated Korean issuers are well placed to attract buyers seeking to limit risk while betting on currencies such as the Philippines peso and Indonesian rupiah.

The report added that financial companies, including the Export-Import Bank of Korea, propelled Korean sales of bonds denominated in Asian emerging-market currencies to two billion U.S. dollars last year from 655 million dollars in 2009.

It also said that Korean financial companies could save borrowing costs by selling emerging Asia currency bonds instead of dollar notes, thanks to strong investor demand for the bonds.