Institutions' Samsung C&T stake tops 20 pct: sources

South Korean institutional investors own more than 20 percent of Samsung C&T Corp., which could serve as the swing vote on its high-stakes fight with a U.S. hedge fund over a controversial merger plan, market sources said Tuesday.The state-run National Pension Service, the biggest institutional investor in South Korea, and other institutions owned 21.6 percent of Samsung C&T common shares as of June 16, according to the sources. The NPS is the largest shareholder with a 10.15 percent stake, with

June 23, 2015

Regulator to lower rate ceiling for subprime loans

South Korea's top financial regulator said Tuesday that it will cut the interest rate ceiling for subprime loans in order to ease burdens of low-credit borrowers.The upper limit rate levied on such loans will be lowered to 29.9 percent later this year from 34.9 percent, according to the Financial Services Commission.The upper rate for such loans is set in accordance with related regulations. The subprime loan rate has been on a steady decline since it fell to 49 percent from 66 percent in 2007.T

June 23, 2015

NongHyup Bank to close underperforming branches

NongHyup Bank will shut down low-profit branches to enhance the margin rate, its holding company NongHyup Financial Group said Monday.The group said it will shut down, integrate or transfer around 30 branches with low profitability, as part of the annual “branch efficiency booster plan.” “We enforced the branch efficiency booster plan to 30-some branches last year, and we are expecting to do the same to a similar number this year as well,” a spokesperson of NongHyup Financial Group said. The num

June 22, 2015

Seoul shares up 0.4 pct on eased Greek woes

South Korean stocks closed 0.4 percent higher on Monday as investors' concerns over the Greek debt issue weakened, analysts said. The South Korean won gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.20 points to 2,055.16. Trading volume was low at 260.5 million shares worth 4.24 trillion won ($3.86 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 471 to 338.Analysts said Seoul shares gained ground as investors are increasingly paying keen attention to the prolonged

June 22, 2015

Korean stock market undervalued: Blackrock

Global asset manager Blackrock on Monday painted a rosy forecast for the South Korean stock market in the second half of the year, saying it plans to increase its holdings of local shares going forward."Valuations in Korea are at a cheap level and positive earnings surprises have characterized performance in the year to date," Andrew Swan, Head of Asian Equities, said in a statement, adding the company will snap up shares "to capture an expected positive environment for the second part of the ye

June 22, 2015

Regulator to ease regulations for bank holding firms

South Korea's top financial regulator said Monday it will lift a set of barriers for large banking groups to diversify their business portfolios as part of its broader deregulation drive in the financial industry.The Financial Services Commission  said a bank affiliate of a financial holding company can sell financial products offered by its sister securities and insurance firms starting later this year.The bank groups can also set up a bank-brokerage office that provides private financial consu

June 22, 2015

S. Korea set to make 5th bid to privatize Woori Bank

The South Korean government will make its fifth attempt to sell a controlling stake in state-owned Woori Bank next month, following its previous failures to put the lender in private hands, industry sources said Monday.The Public Fund Oversight Committee, a government-run body in charge of privatizing the country's No. 3 bank, will unveil a new plan in mid-July after wrapping up a feasibility review.Four previous auctions to sell Woori Bank have fallen through due to a lack of bidders, including

June 22, 2015

S. Korea's third bourse yet to become startup incubator

South Korea's third bourse has sharply grown in terms of turnover and the number of players since its launch but has not properly achieved its mission of serving as an incubator for startups, experts said Monday. The Korea New Exchange was launched in July 2013 to help fund young businesses and small firms, an addition to the main bourse KOSPI and the tech-laden KOSDAQ market. Starting with 21 companies, the third exchange now has 75 whose combined market value amounted to 2.82 trillion won ($2.

June 22, 2015

Currency, stocks gain on U.S. dovish position on rate hike

The dollar’s continuous gain against the Korean won halted Thursday as currency traders widely predicted that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise the key interest rate, but on a moderate basis.In addition, both the benchmark KOSPI and secondary KOSDAQ gained, though the extent was slight. Foreign investors, however, were net sellers on the bourses.Though the Federal Open Market Committee, which held its monthly meeting from June 16-17 in Washington, D.C., has hinted at a rate hike in the coming

June 18, 2015

KB named best trade finance bank in Korea

KB Kookmin Bank was named the best trade bank in Korea by a global trade finance magazine, officials said Thursday.Trade Finance, a magazine affiliated with the global finance magazine Euromoney, selected KB Kookmin Bank as the year’s best trade bank in Korea for the fifth straight year since 2011.The U.K. magazine annually narrows down a list of candidate banks based on a monthlong survey of global financial companies, law firms and trade companies, and then singles out the best one.KB Kookmin

June 18, 2015

FSC eases Internet-only bank rules

Financial authorities will ease regulations and lower entry barriers to encourage information technology companies to invest in Internet-only banks.Nonfinancial companies will be allowed to hold up to a 50 percent stake in an Internet bank, up from the current 4 percent. The minimum equity capital level will be lowered to 50 billion won ($45 million), half the current requirement.The Financial Services Commission said Thursday that it would alleviate the banking-commerce separation rule and the

June 18, 2015

Eased limits on stock price changes off to smooth start

The Korean stock operator’s decision to expand the daily stock price limit and thus to increase market resilience has made a soft landing, despite worries that the measure would create excessive volatility.Starting from Monday, the Korea Exchange doubled the daily price limit to 30 percent for stocks traded on the main KOSPI and secondary KOSDAQ markets.The effect of the alleviation was visible on the first day, especially in the tech-laden KOSDAQ sector, but the overall impact on the stock mark

June 16, 2015