Korean banks' profit nearly halves in 2015

Korean banks saw their earnings almost halve in 2015 from the previous year as they earned less interest income and had to set aside more loan-loss reserves, the financial watchdog said Thursday.The combined net income of 18 commercial and state-run banks stood at 3.5 trillion won ($2.85 billion) last year, down 42.6 percent from 6 trillion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Financial Supervisory Service in Seoul (Yonhap)The 2015 figure was their weakest

Feb. 18, 2016

KIC chief prioritizes risk management

The new chief of Korea’s sovereign wealth fund on Wednesday stressed risk control in an era of global financial volatility, saying its return on investment this year could remain negative after a near 3 percent loss last year. “The outlook for our investment returns is not bright this year in light of the weakness in global markets, with the New York Stock Exchange down nearly 10 percent,” Eun Sung-soo, CEO of Korea Investment Corp. told reporters at its head office in Seoul. The former World Ba

Feb. 17, 2016

Korea to see robust IPO market in 2016

South Korea’s stock market will see another booming year with a record-high volume of initial public offerings in 2016, but a bearish market sentiment could hamper expectations, analysts said. Korea Exchange and Eugene Investment & Securities expect this year to rank as the best for IPOs with over 130 companies going public on the main bourse KOSPI and the secondary tech-heavy KOSDAQ to raise a combined 11 trillion won ($9 billion), beating the record high of 10.9 trillion won in 2010. Despite r

Feb. 17, 2016

Seoul shares fell 0.2% on profit-taking

Korean stocks lost 0.24 percent Wednesday as investors moved to lock in profits from earlier gains amid rising hopes for a recovery in major economies.The local currency dropped sharply against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 4.49 points to close at 1,883.81, ending its two-day winning streak. Trading volume was moderate at 333.89 million shares worth 5.06 trillion won ($4.13 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 499 to 318.The local shares start

Feb. 17, 2016

Foreign currency deposits dip to near 2-year low in Jan.

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea dropped to the lowest level in over 20 months in January, central bank data showed Wednesday, amid a mass outflow of foreign capital.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local residents came to $55.6 billion as of end-January, down $2.93 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The January tally marks the lowest reading since $51.1 billion posted in March 2014. From a year earlier, it marks a 12 perce

Feb. 17, 2016

Short-term funds hit record high in 2015

Korea's short-term floating funds soared to a new all-time high in 2015, data showed Wednesday, as low interest rates and growing economic uncertainties left investors in a dither. Short-term floating money reached a record 931.3 trillion won ($764 billion) as of the end of last year, up 17.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Financial Investment Association.Short-term floating funds refer to money moving in and out of investments in s

Feb. 17, 2016

Korean shares open higher on U.S. gains

Korean share prices opened slightly in the positive Wednesday following overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.9 point, or 0.05 percent, to 1,889.20 in the first 15 minutes of trading. An electronic board at the Korea Exchange displays Korean share prices. (Yonhap)The index was trading 0.32 percent higher at 1894.31 points as of 10:23 a.m. Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 1.39 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.27 percen

Feb. 17, 2016

Seoul shares jump 1.4% on recovery hopes

Korean stocks soared 1.4 percent Tuesday as foreigners and institutions loaded up on shares on rising hopes for a global economic recovery. The local currency closed lower against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 26.10 points to close at 1,888.30. Trading volume was moderate at 380.9 million shares worth 4.21 trillion won ($3.46 billion), with winners far outnumbering losers 672 to 162.Analysts said Seoul shares gained sharp ground amid growing hopes

Feb. 16, 2016

Central bank leaves key interest rate unchanged

South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday left the key interest rate unchanged at a record-low level, citing economic concerns at both home and abroad. In a widely expected decision, the Bank of Korea held the base rate steady at 1.5 percent for February for the eighth consecutive month. Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol presides over a rate policy meeting on Tuesday at the central bank headquarters in downtown Seoul. (Yonhap)The bank has kept the rate unchanged since July last year after four rate cut

Feb. 16, 2016

Seoul shares trade higher in morning trading

Korean share prices rose more than a 1 percent higher on Tuesday morning as investor sentiment was boosted by the possibility that the eurozone may roll out fresh stimulus measures in March.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index traded 1.21 percent higher at 1884.71 as of 11:37 a.m. Seoul shares trade higher in morning trading (Yonhap)The index was led by rising tech shares, with Samsung Electronics adding nearly 1.5 percent and LG Electronics moving up more than 3 percent. LG Display i

Feb. 16, 2016

Dongbu Steel seen closer to stock market delisting

Dongbu Steel is thought to be heading toward a delisting from Korea’s main stock exchange, as the debt-saddled steelmaker’s prospects of escaping from a prolonged state of capital erosion grow increasingly dim. Shares in Dongbu plunged by the daily limit of 30 percent to 2,500 won on the main KOSPI bourse Monday on news that the ongoing efforts by creditors to sell control of the firm is likely to fail due to apparent lack of bidders.  Dongbu Group headquarters in southern Seoul (Yonhap)The sale

Feb. 15, 2016

[KOSDAQ Star] Kakao’s sprawling mobile empire yet to prove profitable

This is the second in a series of articles analyzing the top 10 companies by market capitalization traded on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market. --Ed. From online to mobile and back to off-line, Kakao’s empire of content, apps and services seems to know no limit. With a mobile messenger app almost ubiquitous among smartphone users and the country’s second-largest Web portal, the company is expanding at a breakneck pace through mergers and acquisitions and experimenting with new revenue models from its

Feb. 15, 2016

FSC mulls market contingency plans

The government will actively cope with market uncertainties and beef up active monitoring of the financial market over growing worries about the global economy, the top financial regulator said Monday. Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong said the government will implement contingency plans if investor sentiment excessively worsens and market conditions deteriorate.“The government has already prepared a range of policy options such as emergency measures that aim to stabilize inve

Feb. 15, 2016

Korea's M2 money supply inches down in Dec.

South Korea's M2 money supply shrank slightly from a month earlier in December, marking the first on-month drop in over a year, central bank data showed Monday.The M2 came to 2,241.8 trillion won ($1.85 trillion won) last month, down 0.1 percent from revised 2,244.3 trillion won the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The December tally marked a 7.5 percent increase from a year earlier.The M2 refers to currency in circulation, including bank debentures and deposi

Feb. 15, 2016

Growth of bank household loans slows in Jan.

Growth of South Korean banks' household lending slowed sharply in January from a month earlier as a recent U.S. rate hike weakened consumer spending here, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding household loans from local banks came to 641.3 trillion won ($530 billion) as of end-January, up 2.2 percent from the previous month, according to data from the Bank of Korea.The on-month increase compares with a 6.9 percent gain in December.The rise was solely attributed to an increase in home-backe

Feb. 15, 2016

KB, Korea Investment in race for Hyundai Securities stake

KB Financial Group and Korea Investment Holdings are likely to face off again in the auction of a controlling stake in Hyundai Securities, one of the five largest brokerage houses in Korea. In separate filings Friday, the two revealed to have tendered letters of intent to buy a combined 22.56 percent stake in Hyundai Securities, valued at around 300 billion won ($250 million). “We intend to explore the possibility of a purchase to see if Hyundai Securities fits our strategic focus on wealth mana

Feb. 14, 2016

Korea's home transactions plunge in January

South Korea's home sales plunged 21.4 percent last month from a year earlier due mainly to a base effect stemming from rapid growth posted last year, government data showed Sunday.The number of home transactions reached 62,365 in January compared with a record 79,320 tallied a year ago, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. (Yonhap)The January figure also marked a 29 percent drop from the previous month's 87.871."The on-year decline is caused by the re

Feb. 14, 2016

Financial firms to hike dividend payouts sharply

Local banking and financial firms are expected to greatly boost their dividend payments for 2015, helped by a rise in their earnings and a government policy to give more back to shareholders, market watchers said Sunday.According to the observers, the country's two largest banking groups by assets -- KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group -- have decided to pay out record amounts in dividends, with many other banking and insurance firms also expected to boost their payout ratio.KB Financ

Feb. 14, 2016

Won-dollar volatility near 6-year high in Feb.

The daily volatility of the won-dollar exchange rate has hit a near six-year high in February amid global financial instability, market data showed Sunday.According to the data, the average gap between the daily high and low of the won-dollar exchange rate came to 10.4 won in February, the highest since 12.8 won posted in the second quarter of 2010. (Yonhap)The average difference marks a 0.87 percent intraday fluctuation rate, which compares with 0.58 percent for all of 2015.The average daily va

Feb. 14, 2016

Korea's bank deposits surge in 2015

The amount of money funneled to South Korean banks in deposits and bank debentures soared in 2015 from a year earlier, central bank data showed Sunday, apparently due to a rise in floating money prompted by low interest rates and uncertainties in the investment market.The total amount of funds held by local banks came to 1,391 trillion won ($1.15 trillion) at the end of 2015, up 106.7 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The 2015 tally marked th

Feb. 14, 2016