Most Popular
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Jung's paternity reveal exposes where Korea stands on extramarital babies
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Samsung entangled in legal risks amid calls for drastic reform
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Heavy snow alerts issued in greater Seoul area, Gangwon Province; over 20 cm of snow seen in Seoul
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[Herald Interview] 'Trump will use tariffs as first line of defense for American manufacturing'
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Agency says Jung Woo-sung unsure on awards attendance after lovechild revelations
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[Health and care] Getting cancer young: Why cancer isn’t just an older person’s battle
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K-pop fandoms wield growing influence over industry decisions
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[Graphic News] International marriages on rise in Korea
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Korea's auto industry braces for Trump’s massive tariffs in Mexico
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Seoul's first snowfall could hit hard, warns weather agency
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Stock funds from tax havens top 2.7 tln won
Foreign stock investment funds from international tax havens have exceeded 2.7 trillion won ($2.34 billion), accounting for more than 6 percent of foreign ownership of Korean shares, data showed Thursday.According to the data compiled by market researcher Chaebol.com, foreign residents in tax havens held Korean stocks worth slightly over 2.7 trillion won as of Tuesday. The amount is more than 6 percent of total foreign stock ownership valued at 44.6 trillion won. The National Tax Service (Yonha
April 7, 2016
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Korean shares edge up on Samsung's 'earnings surprise'
Korean shares opened slightly higher Thursday on an apparent "earnings surprise" from Samsung Electronics while investors continued to bet the U.S. Fed will not hurry to raise its key rate.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.58 points, or 0.44 percent, to 1,971.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market leader Samsung Electronics gained 0.54 percent after releasing its formal estimate of first-quarter operating profits.Samsung announced that it racked up 6.6 trillion
April 7, 2016
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KDB strengthens push for alternative energy
Korea Development Bank said Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Korea Energy Agency to cooperate in alternative energy, energy efficiency and climate change mitigation. “We hope the pact will help both sides deepen their interest in renewable energy. KDB, for its part, will up efforts to provide financial support to companies operating in the field,” said KDB’s senior executive vice president Ryu Hee-gyeong in a press release. Korea Development Bank‘s senior executive vice president R
April 6, 2016
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E-Land to list China unit
E-Land plans to list its Chinese unit in Hong Kong by 2018 at the earliest in a bid to improve the group’s balance sheet health and expand its Chinese retail business, the company said Wednesday. E-Land Group will hold a pre-initial public offering raising during the second of 2016 after merging its two Chinese units E-Land International Fashion Shanghai and E-Land Fashion Shanghai It is the first time that a Korean apparel firm is going public overseas. E-Land Group plans to choose a lead manag
April 6, 2016
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Korea needs investment banks: FSC chairman
Korea’s Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong said Wednesday that the time is ripe for the country to have a brokerage with competitive investment banking operations.In a regular media briefing, the chairman added that he supports the recent mergers and acquisitions of brokerages, pointing to NH Investment & Securities taking over Woori Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset Securities acquiring KDB Daewoo and KB Financial Group selected as a preferred bidder for Hyundai Securities.
April 6, 2016
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Hotel Lotte could delay IPO until June: sources
Hotel Lotte, the lodgings and duty-free sales unit of Lotte Group, could postpone its market debut until June to increase its valuation before going public, market watchers said Wednesday. Hotel Lotte initially planned to go public in May, but could delay its schedule by one month to cash in on the government’s decision to issue additional licenses for duty-free operators. Hotel Lotte (Yonhap)At the end of April, the Korea Customs Service is set to make an announcement as to whether it would iss
April 6, 2016
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Shinhan Financial outsmarts rivals in profits, assets
Shinhan Financial Group was by far the top earner among the country’s seven bank holding companies last year, while NH Financial Group was the only one in the red. According to data compiled and released Wednesday by the Financial Supervisory Service, Shinhan’s net profits came in at 2.41 trillion won ($2.08 billion) in 2015, far exceeding the figure of runner-up KB Financial Group. KB logged net income of 1.7 trillion won, followed by Hana Financial Group at 897 billion won. Shinhan also led th
April 6, 2016
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KT&G to beat earnings estimates
KT&G, the KOSPI-listed tobacco maker, is expected to “surprise” the market by posting solid earnings in the first quarter of this year, analysts say.Although the country’s representative sin stock is likely to see its consolidated operating profits fall 27.5 percent to 310.6 billion won ($268.8 million) on-year, the company will perform above the market consensus of 271.5 billion won.“Low base effect and high exchange rate (a weak won) spurred its profitability,” said Hong Se-jong, an analyst at
April 6, 2016
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China's Anbang to buy Allianz Life Korea
China's Anbang Insurance Group agreed with Allianz Group on Wednesday to acquire the local unit of the German insurance giant, industry sources said, in what would be Anbang's second takeover of a life insurer here in about a year.The agreement calls for Anbang to purchase a 100 percent stake in Allianz Life Insurance Korea Co. from Allianz, according to the sources. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.Anbang is estimated to have offered up to 300 billion won ($260 million) for the in
April 6, 2016
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Corporate debt ratio inches down amid weak investment
Korea's corporate debt ratio edged down in 2015 from the previous year due mainly to decreased capital expenditures amid an economic slump, data showed Wednesday.Local companies' debt-to-equity ratio averaged 111.1 percent last year, compared with 112.7 percent a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Capital Market Institute (KCMI) and based on reports by local financial information provider FnGuide, the U.S. statistical agency and Japan's finance ministry.The ratio, or total
April 6, 2016
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Corporate investment up in 2015 driven by top 3 groups: data
Investment by Korea's 30 major business groups grew about 18 percent on-year in 2015, led mostly by Samsung and the other two top conglomerates, industry data showed Wednesday.According to the data by CEO Score, a market research company, a total of 261 subsidiaries of the country's 30 largest business groups invested a combined 76.03 trillion won ($65.8 billion) in 2015, up 17.9 percent from the previous year's 64.48 trillion won.The figures did not include spending on research and development.
April 6, 2016
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Korea's stock loans jump amid relief rally
Korean retail investors have sharply increased their borrowings to buy stocks amid a recent relief rally in the local bourse, market data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association, the so-called margin debt for local stocks stood at 6.88 trillion won ($5.95 billion) as of Monday, up 10 percent from the yearly low of 6.27 trillion won recorded on Feb. 29. A lending section of a commercial bank branch in Seoul (Yonhap)The amount of margin loans t
April 6, 2016
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Korean shares open higher on tech gains
Korean stocks started higher on Wednesday, led by gains in tech firms and automakers, bucking overnight falls in Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.04 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,969.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market heavyweights traded mixed, with top player Samsung Electronics rising 2.14 percent.Hyundai Motor, the nation's leading automaker, rose 0.69 percent. State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. suffered 0.62 percent fall, and top steelmak
April 6, 2016
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[Graphic News] Koreans spend big overseas
Lackluster consumer spending has been a headache for policymakers striving to reinvigorate the sluggish economy, but recent data show that Koreans are spending more than ever before overseas. According to Bank of Korea data, Korean households’ total expenditure abroad grew 13.7 percent on-year in 2015 to a record high of 26.27 trillion won ($22.7 billion). Overseas spending has risen for four consecutive years, with the pace of growth far exceeding that of domestic expenditure. Last year, househ
April 5, 2016
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NPS purchases shares in Korean firms
The National Pension Service, Korea’s largest institutional investor, said it had purchased shares of Korean companies in various sectors.In multiple regulatory filings on Tuesday, the NPS said it had purchased a 5.02 percent stake in cable TV services provider CJ Hellovision, a 5.15 percent of trading company Hyundai Corp., a 9.71 percent of computer software-maker DuZonBIzon, a 5.01 percent of airliner Korean Air, a 5.06 percent of automobile tire maker Hankook Tire Worldwide, a 5.03 percent i
April 5, 2016
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Korean stocks down 0.82% on oil slide, profit-taking
Korean stocks dropped 0.82 percent on Tuesday as foreign investors locked in profits by selling large cap shares following a slide in oil prices, analysts said. The local currency sharply fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 16.23 points to close at 1,962.74. Trade volume was moderate at 360 million shares worth 3.99 trillion won ($3.45 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 423 to 380.The market opened lower following a fall in global oil
April 5, 2016
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[Market Now] Risks of KAI value decline abate
Given that concerns are falling over the possibility of the Korea Aerospace Industries share price further declining following massive block equity sales from its major shareholders, analysts said fundamentals of the aircraft maker and parts developer will now be reflected in the market.KAI's Surion utility helicopter (KAI)Shares of KAI, which develops FA-50 fighter jets and T-50 trainers, have been facing some headwinds as a result of stake sales by its shareholders, which include Hyundai Motor
April 5, 2016
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Tong Yang Moolsan picked for Kukju Machinery takeover
Tong Yang Moolsan, Korea’s third-largest farming machinery and equipment maker, said Tuesday that it has been chosen as preferred bidder for the takeover of smaller rival Kukju Machinery. “Tong Yang Moolsan has been named preferred bidder for the takeover of Kukju Machinery,” the KOSPI-listed firm said in a filing in Seoul. A tractor model of Kukju MachineryIn a separate filing, the seller, Dongkuk Steel Mill, also confirmed its choice of Tong Yang Moolsan among bidders. Up for sale is the entir
April 5, 2016
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Carlyle to take Yakjin Trading public: report
U.S.-based private equity fund Carlyle has reportedly failed to sell Korea’s garment original equipment manufacturer Yakjin Trading, and will move to take the company public instead, a local news report said.“Caryle is considering other various options including initial public offering,” as all potential buyers withdrew from due diligence on Yakjin and walked away from the deal, Yonhap said, quoting an unidentified source.The Carlyle Group’s associate vice president Tammy Li, reached by phone, d
April 5, 2016
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Korea’s fiscal deficit swells to 6-year high
South Korea posted a fiscal deficit of 38 trillion won last year on the back of increased bond issuances to finance its extra spending on boosting the economy, welfare and job creation following the Middle East respiratory syndrome epidemic, according to the Finance Ministry on Tuesday.The deficit recorded in the government’s fiscal account, excluding balances of social security funds – a key indicator of public financial soundness – is the biggest in six years. In 2009, Korea had a fiscal defic
April 5, 2016