The Korea Herald

‘KEB, Hana merger is a bonanza’

Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Jung-tae has reiterated his support for speeding up the merger between Hana and Korea Exchange Bank, stressing that the synergy from the integration would be worth up to 1 trillion won ($980 million).“The KEB, Hana merger is a bonanza,” Kim said during an executive workshop over the weekend. “The early merger will serve as a critical opportunity to make a breakthrough in the internal and external crises and prepare for future growth.” Hana Financial Group chair

July 13, 2014

Seoul shares expected to move within narrow range

South Korean stocks are expected to move in a narrow range next week as investors wait to assess the impact of the trade suspension of Portugal’s largest banking group and upcoming key events, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended at 1,988.74 on Friday, falling 20.92 points, or 1.04 percent, from the previous week.The index started weaker in the beginning of the week ahead of Samsung Electronics’ earnings estimate released on Tuesday.Despite Samsung’s bigge

July 13, 2014

Foreign banks obligated to release financial info: watchdog

South Korea's financial watchdog said Sunday it will have foreign banks operating here to disclose their financial data, including balance sheets and income statements, starting in the fourth quarter of 2014.The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said all financial firms will be ordered to make public their financial status on the Financial Statistics Information System (FISIS), a financial data website operated by the watchdog since 2004."We will continue our efforts to provide people with mor

July 13, 2014

Seoul shares creep up on rate-cut hope

South Korean stocks inched up 0.12 percent on Thursday as investor sentiment was boosted by the central bank’s signal to cut the interest rate despite lingering concerns over a crippled earnings outlook, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 2.34 points to 2,002.84. Trading volume was moderate at 322.9 million shares worth 3.6 trillion won ($3.55 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 428 to 382.“The Bank of Kor

July 10, 2014

Korea considers raising cigarette prices

The South Korean government appears to be considering a hike in cigarette prices in a move to cut the nation’s smoking rate. The tobacco tax increase, if it materializes, would also be a part of the government’s plans to raise more taxes to cover welfare costs, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister nominee Choi Kyung-hwan. “We may need to increase taxation on cigarettes for the sake of public health,” he said in a statement submitted ahead of his confirmation hearing Tuesday. H

July 10, 2014

Korea considers raising cigarette prices

Funds’ net asset values decline slightly in June

Net asset value of investment funds in South Korea fell slightly in June from a month earlier as investors withdrew money from short-term funds amid lackluster performance by the local stock market, data showed Thursday.According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the net asset value of stocks, bonds and real estate-related funds reached a combined 341.40 trillion won ($337.1 billion) at the end of June, down 401 billion won from a month earlier.Net asset value is the amount of funds

July 10, 2014

Validity of financial holding firms in question

It was the government’s hope in 2000 that by introducing the financial holding company system, it could reform the bank-dominated market and diversify the range of financial services available.But it seems that the holding company structure is doing more harm than good.The key trigger was the recent management feud between KB Financial Group, between the group chairman Lim Young-rok and bank president Lee Kun-ho.The top officials’ collided over the matter of replacing the bank’s main computing s

July 10, 2014

Fitch appoints ex-Kookmin exec as managing director

Kim Ok-chanKim Ok-chan, a former executive at KB Kookmin Bank, has joined global ratings agency Fitch Ratings as an adviser to its head of Asia-Pacific on South Korean business matters, the firm said Tuesday.Prior to the post, Kim had been with KB Kookmin for 30 years, holding posts including acting president and chief executive, chief financial officer and head of the treasury department. Dual-headquartered in New York and London, Fitch Ratings has over 50 offices worldwide. Fitch Ratings is pa

July 9, 2014

Fitch appoints ex-Kookmin exec as managing director

Financial companies let off the hook on investigation delay

The nation’s financial authorities may be frustrated over the lack of progress on sanctions for KB Financial Group, but other financial firms appear to be relieved to stay away from the regulator’s probing eye. This was especially true for ING Life Insurance, which has been caught refusing to pay death benefits, along with NH NongHyup Card and Lotte Card, both of which face punishment for customer information leaks that occurred earlier this year.Wary of the growing sense of complacency, the Fin

July 9, 2014

Financial companies let off the hook on investigation delay

Top 10 conglomerates' market capitalization slips on slump in Samsung, POSCO

South Korea's top 10 conglomerates saw their stock market capitalization edge down this year, as market heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics Co. and POSCO remained lackluster amid a bearish run on the local stock market, industry data showed on Wednesday.The combined market capitalization of affiliates under their wings stood at 726 trillion won (US$717 billion) as of Thursday, down 0.63 percent from the start of this year, according to the data.The decline was largely attributed to a slump

July 9, 2014

Finance nominee calls for bold stimulus steps

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister nominee Choi Kyung-hwan on Tuesday called for bold measures to sustain the country’s economic growth. Describing the country’s economic recovery as “slow,” Choi said more “drastic measures” are required to continuing strengthening Asia fourth-largest economy. “Many of the advanced countries in the world are already mobilizing their forces, boosting their economies through quantitative easing and other nontraditional methods. ... We can no longer rely on

July 8, 2014

Finance nominee calls for bold stimulus steps

[Graphic News] Incomes catching up with house prices

Korea’s ratio of house prices to income last year was 23.4 percent of the ratio in 1986, indicating that it has become easier for people to buy homes.But the figure for Seoul’s affluent Gangnam area did not fall by as much, reflecting the polarization in the city’s real estate market. According to the Bank of Korea and KB Kookmin Bank on Tuesday, the general price-to-income ratio last year was 23.4, with the baseline figure of 100 based on the equivalent ratio in 1986. Also, Korea’s long-term PI

July 8, 2014

[Graphic News] Incomes catching up with house prices

Korean stock market lags behind Asian peers: data

South Korea’s stock market is suffering a relatively sharp slump compared with other regional rivals as local companies, dented by a stronger local currency and weak domestic demand, are projected to have failed to meet market expectations in their second-quarter earnings, industry data showed on Tuesday.South Korea’s key stock index, the KOSPI, gained 0.15 percent this month through Monday, the lowest among 14 other regional stock indices, according to the data. Over the past three months, the

July 8, 2014

KEB chief says early merger talks ‘inevitable’

The head of Korea Exchange Bank raised the need to begin early merger talks with its parent group, Hana Financial, lending support to the group chief executive’s remarks that hinted at an integration of the banking affiliates before the agreed-upon 2017 deadline, KEB said Tuesday.In a July 7 written message to bank employees, KEB chief executive Kim Han-jo said, “We are in a situation where early integration talks are inevitable as profitability weakens and the management environment worsens ami

July 8, 2014

KEB chief says early merger talks "inevitable"

The head of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) raised the need to begin early merger talks with its parent group, Hana Financial, lending support to the group chief executive's remarks that hinted at an integration of the banking affiliates before the agreed-upon 2017 deadline, KEB said Tuesday.In a July 7 written message to bank employees, KEB chief executive Kim Han-jo said, "We are in a situation where early integration talks are inevitable as profitability weakens and the management environment worse

July 8, 2014

Finance minister nominee mulls relaxing mortgage rules

President Park Geun-hye’s Finance Minister nominee Choi Kyung-hwan on Monday reiterated that he may seek to ease the nation’s housing market regulations in a move to help prop up the sluggish local property market.In a written answer to questions from lawmakers ahead of a confirmation hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Choi Kyung-hwan also said that he was not considering a supplementary budget at the moment, but that it would be an option if the economy falls into a recession. President Park tapped

July 7, 2014

Finance minister nominee mulls relaxing mortgage rules

Japanese funds eye Korean savings banks

Korean savings banks, which were hit by a series of bankruptcies back in 2011, have recently been regaining their former health, but this time under Japanese ownership. The extent of Japanese firms’ interest in the local industry is such as that financial authorities appear to be perplexed by the excessive penetration of Japanese capital into the domestic market. As a case in point, Apro Service Group, a financial unit mostly known here for its private lender Rush & Cash, officially kicked off a

July 7, 2014

Firms optimistic on won-yuan trading deal

South Korea’s banks and securities firms are pinning high hopes on the recent agreement with China facilitating a direct trading deal between the won and the yuan to improve cross-border transactions and help them find new sources of revenue. The Korean and Chinese central banks agreed last week to launch the direct won-yuan trading market in Seoul as early as this year on the sidelines of the bilateral summit between presidents Park Geun-hye and Xi Jinping last week. Experts say the deal will h

July 7, 2014

Shares edge down ahead of Samsung’s earnings guidance

South Korean stocks closed 0.23 percent lower on Monday as investor sentiment was curbed by a gloomy prospect for Samsung Electronics’ second-quarter earnings guidance due the next day, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 4.54 points to 2,005.12. Trading volume was moderate at 224.1 million shares worth 2.98 trillion won ($2.95 billion), with losers outpacing winners 460 to 358.Analysts said investors stayed v

July 7, 2014

Bank of Korea expected to hold rate steady

South Korea’s central bank is expected to hold the key rate for the 14th straight month in July despite market anticipation of a rate cut in line with the nomination of a pro-growth finance minister, a poll showed Monday.A majority of 21 of 22 analysts surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, projected the Bank of Korea to freeze the benchmark seven-day repo rate at 2.5 percent at a monthly rate-setting meeting scheduled for Thursday. One analyst projected a 0.25

July 7, 2014