South Korea's national pension fund plans to make its first investment in overseas hedge funds next year as part of efforts to secure stable returns, an internal document from the fund showed Sunday.  According to the 2016 asset allocation plan obtained by Yonhap News Agency, the National Pension Service will invest 1 trillion won ($870 million) in overseas hedge funds in 2016 out of its overall idle funds valued at 86.5 trillion won.  As of end-2016, the state pension manager's investment in ov

July 19, 2015

South Korean stocks are likely to trade in a narrow range next week as the second-quarter earnings season kicked off on a downbeat note, analysts said Saturday.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,076.79 on Friday, spiking 2.24 percent from a week earlier.The index climbed as the Greek debt deal and the rebounding Chinese market lifted investor sentiment, which was corroborated by a landmark deal on Iran's nuclear program on Wednesday. With uncertainties in the g

July 18, 2015

South Korea’s Welfare Ministry is planning to turn the National Pension Service’s fund management unit into a separate public firm as part of its plan to revamp the pension program amid rapid population aging.According to the Health and Welfare Ministry, the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs will announce the plan for restructuring the governance of the state pension program on Tuesday.The plan to spin off the fund management division is aimed at tackling the pension progra

July 17, 2015

By Chung Joo-wonNorth Korea’s gross national income reached 34.2 trillion won ($29.8 billion) last year, about 2.3 percent of that of South Korea, data showed Friday. According to the Bank of Korea’s report on the North Korean economic growth in 2014, the communist nation’s nominal GNI per capita stood at 1.39 million won, meaning an average North Korean individual produces approximately 4.7 percent of what the average South Korean does.Meanwhile, North Korea’s trade volume in 2014 amounted to

July 17, 2015

The commercial banking sector is estimated to have posted a weak earnings performance in the second quarter in the wake of factors like record-low interest rates, restructuring costs and reserves against insolvent loans, compiled forecasts in the brokerage industry showed Friday.Banks and financial groups, such as KB Financial and Woori Bank, are scheduled to publicize their second-quarter performance later this month.According to finance info provider FnGuide, the average of analysts’ projectio

July 17, 2015

Innocean Worldwide Inc., an advertisement agency affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, had a rough market debut Friday as its parent company and major clients' slump clouded its business outlook.Established a decade ago to handle the global promotion of Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors, Innocean has grown into the nation's No. 2 ad agency, following Samsung's Cheil Worldwide Inc. Out of 744.7 billion won ($644.9 million) in sales last year, more than 70 percent of Innocean's revenu

July 17, 2015

The U.S. dollar has climbed 30.6 won, or 2.7 percent, against the Korean won over the past month ― also showing gains for the fourth consecutive trading session. Analysts, however, forecast that the local currency’s weakness will not be of much benefit to exporters.Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s confirmation Wednesday of an interest rate hike within this year further accelerated the dollar’s strong position in Thursday’s Korean currency market.The greenback gained 5.6 won from a trading se

July 16, 2015

The market value of tech and auto shares has sank this year as market heavyweights in the sectors have been grappling with fierce global competition and unfavorable currency exchange rates, data showed Thursday. The combined value of information technology and auto shares accounted for 37 percent of the total market capitalization on the main KOSPI market as of Monday, the lowest level since December 2011, according to the data compiled by market researcher WiseFn. The ratio rose from 41.7 perce

July 16, 2015

Following is the third in a four-part series featuring the battle between Samsung C&T and Elliott Associates over the Korean builder’s merger with Cheil Industries and its implications. ― Ed.By Bae Hyun-jungLocal securities companies gave a positive assessment of Samsung Group’s plan to merge two of its pillar affiliates ― construction and trading arm Samsung C&T and the de facto holding company Cheil Industries.Shareholders of Samsung C&T are scheduled to meet Friday to cast their final votes o

July 15, 2015

South Korean shares got off to a strong start Wednesday, buoyed by positive investor sentiment from the conclusion of a historic deal on Iran's nuclear program, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 14.44 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,073.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Construction shares rallied on rising hope that local builders could clinch large-scale construction deals in Iran once the Middle Eastern country expands infrastructure investment. Hyundai En

July 15, 2015

Shares of construction parts and home interior-related companies have sharply surged this year on rising hope that the rebounding real estate market would boost needs for house renovation and remodeling, data showed Wednesday. The latest rally comes as the government has eased rules for mortgage lending and reconstruction of old apartments to shore up the tepid real estate market. About 420,000 new apartments are expected to be sold this year, the highest level since 2000 and a 28 percent on-yea

July 15, 2015

The National Pension Service did not discuss its position on whether or not it would support the proposed Samsung C&T-Cheil Industries merger when it held a decision-making committee meeting Tuesday, officials said.The NPS committee meeting was held amid reports that its fund management office’s investment panel internally decided last Friday to support the controversial merger proposal.Holding an 11.21 percent voting stake in Samsung C&T, the NPS’ decision regarding the merger is seen as critic

July 14, 2015

The South Korean government has invested nearly 36 trillion won ($31.5 billion) into overseas resources development projects in the past 20 years but failed to secure an acceptable amount of resources, the state audit agency said Tuesday."The government has invested 35.8 trillion won to participate in 169 overseas energy projects since 1984 to secure energy resources. However, the outcome was not good enough," the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea said in a press release.The BAI's outcome s

July 14, 2015

South Korea will open a mini-sized futures and options market next week to offer investors wider choices for hedging and trading and revitalize the once-vibrant derivatives market, the main bourse operator said Tuesday. The Korea Exchange currently operates the futures and options trading based on the KOSPI 200 index, a flagship index composed of the top 200 stocks by market capitalization. Starting next week, the bourse operator will offer contracts for as little as 25 million won ($21,900) and

July 14, 2015