Iran’s Mellat bank to reopen Seoul branch next month

Iran’s Mellat Bank plans to reopen its Seoul branch as early as next month following the lifting of sanctions on the Middle East country, a bank official said Wednesday.In January, the U.S. and the European Union removed decades-long economic curbs on Tehran following a landmark deal on nuclear armaments with Washington. A citizen walks past the signboard of Iran’s Mellat Bank in Seoul. (Yonhap)Since opening its Seoul branch in June 2001, Mellat Bank had supported bilateral trade and foreign exc

Feb. 24, 2016

Korean stock market opens bearish on oil slump

Korean share prices opened lower on Wednesday after oil prices slumped on hints from the Saudi Arabian oil minister that there would be no output cut. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 3.42 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,910.8 in the first 15 minutes of trading.  Traders monitor share prices at a local bank. (Yonhap)However, the index surged to positive territory in late morning trading. As of 11:01 a.m., it was trading 3.53 percent higher at 1917.75 points.Oil prices fell more

Feb. 24, 2016

[Newsmaker] Elliott faces probe over Samsung spat

U.S. activist investor Paul Elliott Singer’s Samsung saga may not be over yet. Korea’s financial authorities are moving to seek a prosecutorial investigation into Elliott Associates, a $27 billion hedge fund run by Singer, for a suspected breach of a local disclosure rule regarding its purchase last year of a stake in Samsung Group’s construction unit. YohapThrough a 7.12 percent stake in Samsung C&T, the fund had mounted a high-profile and ultimately unsuccessful campaign to block its merger wi

Feb. 23, 2016

Doosan Bobcat to go public this year

Doosan Infracore, South Korea’s largest construction equipment maker, plans to list its unit Doosan Bobcat on Korea’s stock exchange this year to raise money to reduce debts. Doosan Bobcat, a subsidiary of Doosan Infracore, said Tuesday that it is seeking an underwriter for an initial public offering following Monday’s board meeting where the company chose Korea as its listing venue. Acquired by Doosan Infracore in 2007 for $4.9 billion from Irish manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand, Doosan Bobcat has 3

Feb. 23, 2016

Watchdog orders SC Bank Korea to mend biz practices

The Korean unit of Britain-based banking giant Standard Chartered PLC has been ordered by local financial authorities to improve its decision-making process.Officials of the Financial Supervisory Services said Monday that this was after the bank failed to meet some business practice standards regarding dividend payouts to its parent firm. SC Bank Korea headquarters in downtown Seoul (Yonhap)The FSS observed that only a limited number of high-ranking officials of SC Bank Korea had attended a meet

Feb. 23, 2016

Seoul shares open higher after U.S. gains

Korean share prices opened in the positive Tuesday to track overnight gains on Wall Street. Rebounding oil prices also helped bolster the main index. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 10.62 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,926.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI was trading 0.94 percent higher at 1917.30 points as of 10:24 a.m.  Korean share prices are displayed on an electronic board at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Seoul. (Yonhap)Market bellwether Samsung Elec

Feb. 23, 2016

KIC’s alternative investments portfolio too small: report

The proportion of alternative investments allocated by South Korea’s sovereign fund remains far lower than other state-controlled investment vehicles overseas, a report said Monday, raising concerns that it may have missed opportunities to generate higher returns.According to Korea Economic Research Institute, Korea Investment Corp. has invested only 8 percent of its funds in real estate, private equity and infrastructure in 2014, significantly lower than other sovereign funds including China In

Feb. 23, 2016

E-Land Group to sell lucrative Gangnam store

Cash-strapped E-Land Group has put its flagship and highly profitable department store in southern Seoul on the auction block, a local report said Monday. The retail giant, which has been trying to improve its finances through asset sales, took the decision as the ongoing sale of its hypermarket chain Kim’s Club has failed to draw interest from strategic investors like bigger retail giants Sinsegae, Hyundai Department Store or GS Retail. A NewCore Department Store in Gangnam, southern Seoul (E-L

Feb. 23, 2016

Retailers grapple with dull domestic consumption

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles looking at the performance of various sectors on Korea’s main bourse KOSPI. The following is the third installment. -- Ed.South Korea’s retail stocks suffered a series of challenges last year, including the broader economy’s downturn to a nationwide outbreak of a deadly virus. Experts see no turnaround in sight for them this year, as economic worries continue to weigh down on consumer sentiment while competition from online and mobile rivals in

Feb. 22, 2016

Seoul struggles to stabilize won

Bank of KoreaBloombergA steep rise in the won-dollar exchange rate led government and central bank officials here last week to make a verbal intervention to curb what they saw as excessive volatility in the market.“The Bank of Korea and the government believe fluctuations and volatility in the won-dollar exchange rate have become too excessive recently,” said a joint statement by the Finance Ministry and the BOK, pledging to take all available measures if needed.The rate soared to 1,239.6 won --

Feb. 22, 2016

Household loan default hits 8-year low in 2015

The default rate on Korean bank's household loans dropped to the lowest level in more than eight years in 2015 as low interest rates helped reduce debt service burdens, data showed Monday.In contrast, the delinquency rate of bank corporate loans soared to the highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis, apparently reflecting difficulties that faced local firms due to sluggish sales here and abroad. Apartment complex in Seoul (Yonhap)According to industry data, the delinquency rate for h

Feb. 22, 2016

Korean shares open lower on profit-taking

Korean stocks opened slightly lower Monday as investors tried to lock in profits from last week's gains on lingering concerns about the global economy and a slump in oil prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.59 points, or 0.14 percent, to 1,913.65 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market heavyweights were in negative terrain across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched down 0.08 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor lost 1.01 percent.LG Elec

Feb. 22, 2016

Government to scrap password-based authentication for online banking

Korean bank customers will soon be able to make online transactions without using security cards or one-time passwords as the government is seeking ways to make online payments easier so as to drive innovation in the sector, financial authorities said Sunday. (123rf)“As a part of financial reforms, we plan to abolish the mandatory use of password-based authentication system by revising online financial transaction regulations during the first half of this year,” said an official from the Financi

Feb. 21, 2016

Seoul warns of action as won slides to near 6-year low

South Korea’s currency sank to its lowest level in almost six years against the U.S. dollar Friday, as Cold War-era geopolitical tensions with North Korea and expectations of an interest rate cut weighed down on the value of Korean assets. Local authorities warned of possible action in the foreign exchange market in their first verbal intervention in more than four years. The won closed at 1,234.4 per dollar in Seoul, shedding 7 won from the previous day. It is the currency’s weakest close since

Feb. 19, 2016

Bank account portability to go into full swing next week

The government will make it easier for people to shift their accounts from one bank to another starting next week, which is expected to improve overall competitiveness of the financial sector, the financial regulator said Friday.The third phase of the so-called bank account portability system, which is set to start next Friday, should improve convenience for customers and stoke healthy competition among banks which have been struggling with their dwindling earnings, according to the Financial Se

Feb. 19, 2016

BOK chief says more uncertainty in global financial market

South Korea's central bank head forecast additional difficulties for the economy Friday, saying uncertainties in the global financial market were increasing more than ever before."Since the beginning of the year, uncertainties in the global financial market have increased due to the instability in the Chinese market, additional drops in global oil prices and the introduction of a negative interest rate by the Bank of Japan," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a meeting with top financial off

Feb. 19, 2016

Bank profits plunge 46%, lending margin hits fresh low in 2015

Profits of local banks last year plunged to their lowest in more than a decade with their margins from lending hitting a fresh low. According to the regulator Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday, the combined net profit of the country’s 18 commercial and state-run banks dropped 42.6 percent on-year to 3.5 trillion won ($2.85 billion). This is the lowest level since 2003, the height of a crippling credit card lending crisis.  (The Korea Herald)“While the net interest margin continued to dec

Feb. 18, 2016

[Photo News] Partnership for overseas aid

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Yoon Jong-kyu (left) and Korea International Cooperation Agency chief Kim Young-mok pose for photos at the state-run aid body’s headquarters in southern Seoul, on Thursday after they signed an agreement to boost business cooperation. The pact envisions KB Kookmin providing financial advice on the KOICA’s overseas aid projects, such as infrastructure construction.  (KB Kookmin Bank)

Feb. 18, 2016

Korea’s corporate debts carry severe risks

Warnings have been repeatedly raised on the danger mounting household and government debts are posing to the country’s sluggish economy.Corporate debt problems have been considered less severe. A recent report from a local research institute, however, showed that this perception was far from reality.Korean companies’ debt-servicing capacity was near the bottom among those in the 41 nations surveyed in the report released by the LG Economic Research Institute earlier this month. Their cash flow c

Feb. 18, 2016

Korean banks' FX turnover hits 7-year high in 2015

Daily foreign exchange turnover by Korean banks reached a seven-year high in 2015 due largely to proactive won-yuan transactions, the central bank said Thursday.The daily FX turnover came to $48.43 billion last year, up 8 percent from the previous year's $44.84 billion, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Bank of Korea (Yonhap)The 2015 figure marks the highest since 2008 when the volume stood at $48.65 billion won, it noted."The growth was largely attributable to growth in trading between the

Feb. 18, 2016