Use of prepaid cards nearly halves in Q2

Use of prepaid cards in South Korea almost halved in the second quarter of this year from three months earlier, government data showed Monday, as card firms are passive about the costly business.The country's prepaid card spending stood at 869.3 billion won ($765 million) in the April-June period, down 47.2 percent, or 164.8 billion won, from the prior quarter.It marks the first time since the second quarter of 2009 that quarterly prepaid card spending has fallen by more than 100 billion won.The

Oct. 17, 2016

Foreign holding in 30 firms exceed 315 tln won

Shares held by foreign investors at South Korea's top30 listed firm have exceeded 315 trillion won (US$278 billion), data showed Sunday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service data submitted to the National Assembly, shares held by foreign investors were 67 percent of the total share ownership as of September. Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. showed the highest ratio of foreign ownership at 36 percent, the data showed.Shares held by foreign investors exceeded 10 trillion at SK hynix, th

Oct. 16, 2016

US keeps South Korea on FX watch list

The United States has again included South Korea on its monitoring list of trading partners that may be pursuing unfair currency practices, according to a report by the US Department of Treasury on Saturday. This is the second consecutive report after an April issuance under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 in the US, which requires the Treasury Department to monitor key indicators related to foreign currency operations and economies that are deemed to be using unfair for

Oct. 16, 2016

KDIC reviews stronger protection for depositors

South Korea’s state-run depository insurance company said it will consider raising the threshold of protection money for depositors to better reflect the current size of the local economy.The Korea Depository Insurance Corp. provides protection of up to 50 million won ($44,000) in principal and interest per depositor, should a financial institution go bankrupt. The protection covers accounts in commercial banks, brokerages, insurers and savings banks. KDIC President Gwak Bum-gook (Yonhap) “The t

Oct. 14, 2016

Global investors pin hopes on smart-beta ETFs

Institutional investors and asset management firms around the world expressed keen interest in the growing smart-beta equity traded funds market at a forum in Seoul on Thursday, hoping them to bring high yields amid the prolonging low interest rate environment. At the 2016 Global ETF Conference hosted by Korea Exchange at a hotel in Yeouido in western Seoul, global financial investors agreed on the growth prospects of the smart-beta ETF market, in which they can achieve higher yields with more e

Oct. 13, 2016

[Photo News] Bringing AI into finance

Participants including Kim Mi-seob (third from left), chief officer of management and administration at Mirae Asset, and Chung Jin-taek (third from right), dean of the Korea University College of Engineering, pose at a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony for the Mirae Asset Artificial Intelligence Financial Research Institute, the country’s first AI research institute dedicated to developing financial solutions at the Mirae Asset Center One Building in central Seoul on Thursday. (Mirae

Oct. 13, 2016

[Photo News] Sale of longest dated treasury

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (fifth from right), Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman Jeong Eun-bo (fifth from left), Korea Exchange CEO Jeong Chan-woo (fourth from right) andd Korea Financial Investment Association Chairman Hwang Young-key (third from right) celebrate with brokerage heads the government’s sale of 50-year Teasurys, Korea’s longest-ever dated state bonds, worth 1.1 trillion won ($990 million) with a rate of 1.574 percent in Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

Oct. 12, 2016

Koreans know more about money than global average: OECD

South Koreans’ overall financial skills ranked higher than the average of 30 surveyed countries and economies, data showed Wednesday.The country ranked No. 7 in rankings on financial knowledge, attitudes and behavior, the global study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released in Paris showed.The survey questioned 52,000 people aged 18 to 79. To gauge financial knowledge, it asked seven questions, such as on the financial concept of diversification and how purchasing p

Oct. 12, 2016

US rate hike would make Asian bonds more attractive: expert

Asian bonds will become more attractive to investors if the US Federal Reserve makes gradual increases in its funds rates, a bond market expert said Wednesday.“Learning from past experiences, yields of Asian bond funds rose during periods when the Fed raised its rate,” said Ooi Boon Peng, the chief investment officer of Eastspring Investments based in Singapore at a press conference in Yeouido, western Seoul.“(The) restructuring activities under way in many Asian countries are increasing the app

Oct. 12, 2016

Road ahead for fintech and banking supervision

We usually use the word “platform” to refer to an elevated level surface that enables passengers to easily get on and off a train. So we can imagine it as an intermediary physical space between a passenger and a train or a point of contact between a passenger and the tracks on a railway. Nowadays, the term “platform” is frequently used as a means to connect customers to a service, especially in the world of business and technology where rapid advances in technology have transformed mobile device

Oct. 12, 2016

Samsung shares become more volatile this year

Shares of tech behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. have become more volatile this year due to a string of negatives including the recent furor over its latest flagship smartphone, data showed Wednesday.Samsung, the top cap and crown jewel of the local bourse, has seen its share price jump or drop more than 4 percent from the previous session seven times this year, four of them involving the Galaxy Note 7 episode, according to the data by the Korea Exchange. Samsung recorded a daily volatility of mo

Oct. 12, 2016

One in 3 chaebol family members take shares as collateral

One in three family members of South Korea's major conglomerate owners have put up shares as collateral for loans from financial institutions, with the percentage of share collateral soaring for financially troubled business groups, a market tracker said Wednesday.In a report on collateral provided by 363 owner family members of the country's top 30 conglomerates, known here as chaebol, CEO Score said that 30.3 percent, or 110 people, have offered their shares as collateral for loans as of end-S

Oct. 12, 2016

Local insurers to face slower growth next year: report

South Korea’s insurance industry is expected to face slower growth in terms of premiums next year, mainly due to low interest rate trends, slow economic growth and the aging Korean society, a report said Tuesday.According to the report by Im Jun-hwan, director of the research, planning and coordination at the Korea Insurance Research Institute, the premium growth rate at Korean insurance companies is likely to fall to 2.2 percent next year from 3.2 percent this year. It was 5.5 percent in 2015,

Oct. 11, 2016

[FUTURE OF FINANCE] Quarterback CEO pioneers South Korea’s robo-advisor market

In American football, a quarterback is considered the leader of the offensive team. With Quarterback Investments, CEO Yang Shin-hyung wants to be just that, by taking the lead in the robo-advisor asset management.“You never know where the ball will bounce to, exactly like the financial market,” said Yang. “Our goal is to keep the ball in our hands, meaning, keeping all the underlying assets -- stocks, bonds, commodities -- under control and carry out efficient allocation.” Quarterback Investment

Oct. 11, 2016

NPS should spin off fund management unit: chief

Korea’s National Pension Service, which manages the world’s third-largest pension fund by assets, should spin off its fund management unit into a separate public company, its chief executive said Monday.“In my personal opinion, it is necessary that the unit should be separated,” Moon Hyung-pyo, CEO and Chairman of the NPS, said at a parliamentary audit. (Yonhap)The Ministry of Health and Welfare floated the initial spin-off idea in July last year to boost profits of the 541 trillion won fund. Th

Oct. 10, 2016

FSC preparing protective measures for ELS investors

The South Korean financial regulator is preparing measures to protect investors of equity-linked securities, known as ELS, and these will be announced by November, the regulator chief said Monday. “As ELS issuances soar, problems with investor protection and the fiscal soundness of securities brokerages are being highlighted,” said Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, at a press conference in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. Total ELS issuances stood at 101.4 trillion won ($9

Oct. 10, 2016