[Herald Interview] Investment guru sees opportunities in post-COVID era

In his first public letter in 10 years, South Korea’s value investment guru Chen Kang in March urged fund investors to remain unperturbed by the coronavirus uncertainties and search for where purchasing power would flock to in the post-coronavirus era. The investor with over 30 years of experience in stock investing added this was a way of targeting value creation even in trying times. “Investors should keep an eye on how daily life evolves, because that’s where the future of

MarketJuly 5, 2020

HK-based hedge fund’s liquidity crisis spooks Korean investors

Gen2 Partners, a Hong Kong-based hedge fund, has notified South Korean financial institutions of a fund freeze regardless of the deadlines for fund redemption, according to news reports Sunday. This comes as its flagship fund using a leveraged scheme suffered losses due to the coronavirus outbreak, facing a liquidity crunch. The Korean entities dedicated to pooling investor money for Gen2 Partners’ multistrategy funds include brokerage houses Shinhan Investment, Kiwoom Securities and S

MarketJuly 5, 2020

S. Korea to execute largest-ever extra budget to battle pandemic

South Korea will execute its third supplementary budget of 35.1 trillion won ($29.3 billion) on Monday as part of a move to minimize the economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Sunday. The latest COVID-19 response budget, the single biggest spending in the country’s history, was approved by the National Assembly late Friday, surpassing the extra budget of 28.4 trillion won passed amid the 2009 global financial crisis.  Earlier i

EconomyJuly 5, 2020

[News Focus] Will Kospi be alright when short sellers return in September?

SEJONG -- An eye-catching issue in the nation’s economy is whether the growth of gross domestic product will bounce back in the second half of the year after touching a bottom in the first half. While GDP growth was minus 1.3 percent in the first quarter, compared to the previous quarter, there is a possibility that the coming figure for the second quarter (April-June) will also post negative growth or dip further. Exports fell by 11.2 percent in the first half, on an on-year basis. For

MarketJuly 5, 2020

S. Korea's gold bourse turnover hits new record high amid virus pandemic

South Korea's gold turnover reached an all-time high in the first half of 2020 as investors flocked to safer assets amid the coronavirus pandemic around the globe, data showed Sunday. The combined turnover on the gold bourse stood at 710 billion won ($591 million) over the January-June period, exceeding the 591.9 billion won posted for all of 2019, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange (KRX). The gold bourse was launched on March 24, 2014, as the country tried to bring more tra

EconomyJuly 5, 2020

First-stage engine test for KSLV-2 rocket set for later this year: KARI

South Korea is set to carry out a critical ignition test for the first-stage engine of its locally built space rocket later this year, a senior researcher at a state-run aerospace institute said Sunday. The process involves the clustering of four 75-ton thrust motors into the main stage rocket and actually starting the engine of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-2) rocket, said Cho Sang-yeon, head of the launcher assurance team at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). The KSLV-2

TechnologyJuly 5, 2020

Number of fake banknotes in S. Korea further dips in H1

The number of fake South Korean banknotes found here continued to decline in the first half, and the combined face value of the counterfeits also dropped sharply, central bank data showed Sunday. In the January-June period, the number of counterfeit banknotes found here came to 129, down 19.4 percent from 160 bills found a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The half-year tally marks a steady decline since the second half of 2017. The combined face value of the counterfeits f

MarketJuly 5, 2020

S. Korean economy tipped to contract this year, but positive growth still possible: report

South Korea's economy is widely expected to suffer its first annual contraction in over a decade this year but may expand, depending on how swiftly and effectively the government implements its budget spending and how quickly the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control, a think tank said Sunday. "Considering that economic indicators are worsening to levels seen during the Asian financial crisis when the country posted a negative growth, the possibility of the country posting a negative

EconomyJuly 5, 2020

[Weekender] COVID-19: Summertime safety tips

Summer is in full swing amid an ever deepening pandemic. As the virus is new, figuring out how to navigate the season safely can be daunting. Health experts share their responses to some of the popular queries about the coronavirus in summertime. Will hot temperatures mitigate the spread? Contrary to earlier conjectures, warmer weather does not stop the coronavirus from spreading. Countries with hot weather have reported outbreaks as well. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

TechnologyJuly 4, 2020

Seoul stocks likely to face volatile sessions next week: analysts

South Korean stocks are expected to face choppy trading next week amid signs of a global economic recovery and the rising number of new coronavirus infections, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,152.41 points Friday, up 0.83 percent from a week earlier. "The gap is narrowing between the stock index and the real economy," said Daeshin Securities global strategist Moon Nam-joong. "The improved US jobs data seems to have gi

MarketJuly 4, 2020

Retailers set to hold bargain events over weekend amid state-led sales festival

Shoppers who want to bag a bargain may have to visit major retailers across the country over the weekend as major outlets are planning to hold big events in line with a state-led sales festival designed to boost spending amid the pandemic. South Korea kicked off the 17-day sales festival, called the "Korea Donghaeng Sale" campaign, on June 26 in an effort to boost faltering domestic demand amid the new coronavirus outbreak. "Donghaeng" means going along together in Korean.

ConsumerJuly 4, 2020

POSCO again delays resumption of blast furnace amid virus

South Korean steelmaker POSCO has again pushed back the resumption date of its third blast furnace due to the global recession sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, a company official said Saturday. POSCO had planned to resume the operation of the third blast furnace in Gwangyang in late May following its repair and maintenance work, but it delayed the resumption date to the end of June. The company, however, said no decision has been set yet on when it will resume the operation of the third bl

IndustryJuly 4, 2020

Samsung to pay up to 100% bonuses for semiconductor division employees

Samsung Electronics will provide 100 percent performance-based bonuses to the employees of the semiconductor division next week, industry sources said Friday. The world’s biggest memory chip provider is planning to give its workers a half-year bonus, dubbed “target achievement incentives” based on their performances, which could be a maximum of 100 percent of their monthly salary. While the employees of the chipmaking unit are reportedly said to receive bonuses that are eq

TechnologyJuly 3, 2020

Transport Minister meets HDC, Aekyung Group, Eastar Jet execs to urge M&A deal

Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mi met with executives of HDC Group, Aekyung Group and Eastar Jet on Friday to urge their air carrier merger deals, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.  Kim reportedly had discussions with HDC Group Chairman Chung Mong-kyu, Aekyung Group Vice Chairman Chae Hyung-seok and former Eastar Jet Group Chairman Lee Sang-jik and was briefed on the status of the respective merger deals. HDC Group, which owns midsized builder HDC Hyundai Deve

MobilityJuly 3, 2020

Disaster relief fund encourages eating out more in May: statistics

The state COVID-19 relief funds distributed in May appear to have led more people to eat out or spend money on food at physical stores, according to data released by the country’s statistics agency on Friday. Statistics Korea said the value of online shopping transactions was 12.72 trillion won ($10.6 billion) in May, up 13.1 percent compared to a year earlier. The online shopping transaction value had jumped 24.5 percent in February, but with the COVID-19 spreading further in March,

ConsumerJuly 3, 2020

S. Korean parliament likely to pass largest-ever extra budget in history

S. Korean lawmakers on Friday are set to pass a bill for the third extra budget of up to 35.3 trillion won ($29.5 billion) in the afternoon, marking the passage of the largest-ever supplementary budget, in an effort to cushion the economy from the blows of the coronavirus pandemic. In a press briefing held earlier in the day, ruling Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Park Hong-keun set the time for the National Assembly’s plenary session vote at 7 p.m., saying that related Special Comm

EconomyJuly 3, 2020

Seoul stocks close higher on economic recovery hopes

South Korean shares closed higher Friday on hopes of economic recovery buoyed by better-than-anticipated economic indicators from major economies, including the United States. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.04 points, or 0.80 percent, to close at 2,152.41. Trading volume was moderate at about 754 million shares worth some 8.5 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 529 to 307. The gains were led

MarketJuly 3, 2020

S. Korea’s forex reserves hit record-high of $410.75b

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves hit a fresh record high of $410.75 billion last month, having gained $3.44 billion on-month due to a weak dollar trend, the nation’s central bank said Friday. “Profits and investment returns from foreign assets coupled with the weak dollar trend translating into a higher dollar-converted value of other currencies contributed to the gain,” A Bank of Korea official said. Korea’s forex reserves have increased for three conse

EconomyJuly 3, 2020

SK Biopharmaceuticals shares spike for 2nd day in row

SK Biopharmaceuticals, the largest initial public offering of this year so far, continued to perform strong Friday, soaring to a daily limit of 30 percent in the second trading session. The bio unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group began trading at 127,000 won ($105.75) per share, then spiked 38,000 won, or 29.92 percent, to reach 165,000 won in early trading hours. Throughout the trading day, the stock price continuously maintained, while marking its market capitalization of more than

MarketJuly 3, 2020

Russia approves HDC’s Asiana takeover, final stage for merger deal cleared: HDC

South Korean midsized builder HDC Hyundai Development Co. said Friday that it has received approval from Russian aviation authorities for HDC’s planned takeover of flag carrier Asiana Airlines, but added that renegotiation of the acquisition terms is still underway. Regarding the merger deal involving the air carrier, HDC had to receive approval from six of the nations that Asiana flies to as a prerequisite.  HDC had planned to complete the deal by the end of April after regulators

MobilityJuly 3, 2020