Sales of capital-at-risk ELS rose 50% YoY in March, yet analysts warn more sales could shift to principal-protected structures as the tightened regulatory distribution rules introduced recently start to bite.

Sales of structured products sold in South Korea recorded a 43% jump in volumes to KRW5.35 trillion (US$3.6 billion) in March compared to a year ago, despite a 16% drop compared to the prior month, SRP data shows. Sales across all wrappers improved compared to the same period of last year, with capital-at-risk equity-linked securities (ELS) rising 50% year-on-year (YoY) to KRW1.8 trillion and capital-protected equity-linked bonds (ELBs) up 31% YoY to roughly KRW1.6 trillion. South Korea: sales