Big firms suffer wide gap in domestic, foreign ratings

South Korean credit appraisers award far more favorable ratings to large domestic corporations than Moody's Investors Service and other global players, a market tracker said Wednesday.The country's three major ratings agencies -- NICE Investors Service, Korea Investors Service and Korea Ratings -- granted an average credit rating of AA+ to 51 local big businesses from 2014 to 2016, according to CEO Score. The logos of South Korea's top 30 companies (Yonhap)In contrast, Moody's Investors Service,

Feb. 22, 2017

Shinhan Bank upgrades services for foreigners

South Korea’s Shinhan Bank said it is increasing efforts to better assist the growing population of foreigners here and Koreans heading abroad. The bank said Tuesday it will expand its existing channels to better assist foreigners who face difficulties here because of the language barrier and cultural difference.  (Yonhap)“Even if they can communicate in Korea, the financial jargon and financial system in South Korea could be difficult for them to understand,” the bank said. Shinhan has opened a

Feb. 21, 2017

KEB Hana Bank head’s term to be renewed

South Korea’s commercial lender KEB Hana Bank said its executive nomination committee decided to renew the two-year term of its incumbent CEO Ham Young-joo. Ham’s second term still requires approval at the bank’s shareholders meeting in late March.  Ham Young-joo, CEO and President of KEB Hana Bank. (KEB Hana Bank)Ham became the first CEO and president of the bank in September 2015, after Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank merged. His term was to expire at the end of March.The bank attributed Ham

Feb. 21, 2017

Fund market size close to W500tr

South Korea's fund market looks set to exceed 500 trillion won ($436 billion) on the growth of real estate and other alternative funds, data showed Tuesday.Funds under management totaled 498.6 trillion won, the largest-ever amount here, according to Korea Financial Investment Association. An image of real estate funds in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)It marks an increase of 43.1 trillion won from a year earlier.The volume stood at 317.2 trillion won at the end of 2012 and rose to 3

Feb. 21, 2017

Insurers' net income falls 2.3% in 2016

The net income of South Korea's insurance companies dropped 2.3 percent on-year in 2016 due to low performance by life insurers, data showed Tuesday.They reported a combined net profit of 6.16 trillion won ($5.37 billion) for the year, versus 6.3 trillion won in 2015, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. An image of car insurance in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)Life insurers' net income decreased 25 percent to 2.69 trillion won, while that of nonlife ones jumped 27.7 pe

Feb. 21, 2017

More households under excessive debt burden

A growing number of households in South Korea are exposed to debt risks, especially people in their 30s and the elderly, data showed Monday.The number of "marginal households," whose debt-to-disposable income ratio is over 40 percent, came to 1.81 million last year, up 14.7 percent from 1.58 million recorded in 2015, according to National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun's policy office. An image of rising household debts. (Yonhap)It analyzed data compiled by Statistics Korea.Among the country's

Feb. 20, 2017

Korea to sell W300b worth of 50-year state bonds

South Korea will sell 300 billion won ($260.8 million) worth of the longest 50-year state bonds next month in a bid to meet growing market demand for safer assets, the Finance Ministry said Monday.“When we first introduced the longest Treasury last year, we planned to float some 1 trillion won in 2017,” Vice Finance Minister Song Eon-seog told reporters in a briefing in Sejong. “The first batch of 300 billion won will be put on auction in late March.” (Yonhap)The detailed timing and the amount o

Feb. 20, 2017

Banks' exposure to major shipbuilders sharply down

South Korean banks' credit exposure to the country's three major shipbuilding companies was reduced by 5.4 trillion won ($4.7 billion) in 2016 due to their restructuring efforts, data showed Monday.According to the data by the Korea Enterprise Data, eight state-run and commercial banks' credit exposure to the three shipbuilding companies -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. -- came to 46.35 trillion won as of the end of 20

Feb. 20, 2017

Average age of main stock investors increasing

South Korea’s stock investors are aging as the younger generation, partly from lack of extra money and disappointing profit rates, shuns active participation, data indicated Monday.According to securities information portal SEIBro operated by the Korea Securities Depository, the age of the main investors in the country’s top 10 market cap companies has been increasing over the past 10 years. (Yonhap)For Samsung Electronics, 2.77 percent of the investors were in their 20s as of the end of last ye

Feb. 20, 2017

Kospi’s turnover rate down sharply in 2016

South Korea’s main stock market posted a sharp drop in the share turnover rate in 2016, with the benchmark index stuck in a tight range, data showed Monday.The Kospi’s turnover rate stood at 247.15 percent, down 39.84 percentage points from 2015, according to the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)A stock turnover rate is a measure of stock liquidity, calculated by dividing the total number of transactions by the number of listed stocks. A higher turnover rate indicates high transaction levels relative to

Feb. 20, 2017

Bank federation head goes tit-for-tat against KOFIA

The head of South Korea’s federation of banks urged financial authorities to allow banks to offer broader money trust and asset management services, in a tit-for-tat move against the chief of the financial investment association representing brokerages and asset management firms. Ha Yung-ku, chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks, said the current law banning banks from offering unspecified money trusts is unfair, given that the regulator recently allowed large-sized brokerages to enter the c

Feb. 20, 2017

[Herald Interview] Korea can tap Gulf's urban development needs: CEO

With their competitive edge in building infrastructure, South Korean companies can tap the growing needs of urban development in the Persian Gulf region, a Qatari bank CEO said.Raghavan Seetharaman, CEO and president of Doha Bank Group, recently visited Seoul to hold a seminar for Korean builders and financial firms interested in investing in the region.“It is the strength of Korea -- building, contracting, procurement, supply chain systems and logistics for airports, roads, rails, sea ports and

Feb. 20, 2017

[STOCK PREVIEW] Seoul shares forecast to face downward pressure this week

South Korean shares are expected to come under pressure next week as lingering concerns over US President Donald Trump’s policies, coupled with increased currency volatility, may continue to sap market sentiment, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,080.58 points Friday, slightly up from 2,075.08 points a week earlier. (Openas)This week, the local stock market started a tad higher on hopes for the Trump administration’s tax policies, and the US Fed C

Feb. 19, 2017

Foreign investors pocket hefty dividends from Korean firms

Foreign investors have received almost 15 trillion won ($13 billion) in dividends from South Korea’ top 10 conglomerates over the past three years on the back of shareholder-friendly policies, industry data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker Chaebul.com, Samsung Group, Hyundai Motor Group and eight other business groups have paid a combined 14.67 trillion won in dividends to foreign investors over the past three years. (Yonhap)In 2014, foreign investors received a c

Feb. 19, 2017

KB Kookmin Bank signs MOU with Myanmar's govt. and state-run bank

KB Kookmin Bank, a major South Korean bank, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar's Construction Ministry and its state-run Construction and Housing Development Bank, KB Financial Group said Friday.Under the deal, KB Kookmin Bank plans to provide financial support to Myanmar's plan to expand houses for its working-class people.(Yonhap)KB Microfinance Myanmar Co., the local unit that's owned 100 percent by KB Kookmin Bank, plans to offer loans to Myanmar's people when they renovat

Feb. 17, 2017

Futures firms, brokerages sharply down due to tepid derivatives market

South Korean futures firms and brokerage houses have declined sharply in the recent seven years due to a deep slump in the local derivatives market, industry data showed Friday.The number of futures firms stood at five as of September last year, more than halving from 11 tallied in 2009, with their employees shrinking to 395 from 683, according to the data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association. (Yonhap)Over the same period, the number of brokerages also fell to 56 from 62, while

Feb. 17, 2017

Investment to and from Cayman Islands on the rise

The Cayman Islands may be little known to ordinary Koreans, but inward and outward investments between South Korea and the British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea have been on the rise, according to government data. As of the end of January, the amount of investment from the island reached 9.96 trillion won ($8.72 billion), up from 8.22 trillion won in January 2015. The figure in 2008 was 3.67 trillion won.  With a population of less than 60,000, the Caribbean isl

Feb. 16, 2017

Banks' foreign currency deposits up 9.7% in January

Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea rose 9.7 percent in January from a month earlier as exporters increased their US dollar deposits, central bank data showed Thursday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by domestic and foreign banks here reached $64.65 billion in January up from $58.91 billion a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said. (Yonhap)Foreign currency deposits held by domestic banks rose 7.7 percent to $53.36 billion from $49.52 billion during the same

Feb. 16, 2017

Korea sends letter of protest to FT over report on currency manipulators

The South Korean government has sent a letter of protest to international daily newspaper Financial Times over its recent news report that Seoul has intentionally devalued its currency, a government official said Thursday.In the article titled "Donald Trump's anger at Asian currency manipulators missed target" moved on Monday, the FT said that South Korea and Taiwan are the "obvious culprits" of currency manipulation. (Yonhap)"Neither Seoul nor Taipei clearly declares their currency intervention

Feb. 16, 2017

KB Financial Group opens 3rd branch in Cambodia

KB Financial Group said Wednesday it has opened a third bank branch in Cambodia in the latest move to strengthen its business in the Southeast Asian country.The opening of the KB Kookmin Bank branch earlier in the day drew some 100 local and South Koreans, including KB Financial Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, according to KB Financial. KB Financial Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo (2nd from left) attends a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening of the third branch of KB Kookmin Bank in Toul Tom Poung in southw

Feb. 15, 2017