Top conglomerates take up half of stock market cap

Listed units of South Korea's top 10 conglomerates account for slightly over half of the country's stock market capitalization, data showed Wednesday, pointing to their huge clout in Asia's fourth-largest economy.According to the data by corporate tracker CEO Score, 181 listed subsidiaries of the 10 largest family-controlled business groups, known as chaebol here, had a combined market capitalization of 778.5 trillion won ($700 billion) as of end-July, or 51.2 percent of the value of all shares

Aug. 3, 2016

Samsung affiliates suffer downbeat earnings in Q2: data

Samsung Group, the country's top conglomerate, saw its affiliates log weaker than expected earnings during the second quarter of the year, while No. 2 Hyundai Motor Group managed to rack up decent bottom lines, data showed on Wednesday.According to the data compiled by market researcher FnGuide, 35 companies affiliated with the nation's top five conglomerates reported their second-quarter earnings and 22 of them posted market forecast-beating profits.In the case of Samsung, four out of its 11 af

Aug. 3, 2016

Hyundai, Kia see U.S. sales grow 6% in July

Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., saw their combined sales in the United States rise 6 percent in July, thanks in large part to strong sales in sport utility vehicles, data showed Tuesday.The two South Korean auto giants sold a combined 134,972 units in the U.S. last month, up from 127,324 units in the same month last year, the data showed. Hyundai's sales rose 5.6 percent from last year to 75,003 while Kia's totaled 59,969 units, up 6.4 percent compared with a year

Aug. 3, 2016

[Monitor] Mortgage lending rises in July

Home-backed mortgage loans extended by local banks rose in July, due mostly to the recovery of the sagging housing market, according to banking industry officials Tuesday.

Aug. 2, 2016

Former KDB chief’s home, office raided in DSME probe

[THE INVESTOR] Kang Man-soo, the former head of Korea Development Bank, has come under scrutiny in the expanding Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering probe, with the prosecution raiding his home and office on Tuesday.Kang, a former finance minister and former presidential advisor, is one of the closest aides of former President Lee Myung-bak. Kang Man-sooAccording to reports, the prosecution believes that Kang was involved in the wrongdoing of two former DSME CEOs -- Nam Sang-tae and Ko Ja

Aug. 2, 2016

Brazil equity funds shine ahead of Rio Olympics

South Korean equity funds investing in Brazilian shares yielded much higher than other overseas stock funds in July ahead of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, a market tracker said Tuesday.According to fund rating and consulting firm KG Zeroin, Brazilian equity-related funds posted the highest return of 8.33 percent among overseas stock funds here as of July 29.Funds for healthcare stocks trailed with 6.69 percent, followed by German equity funds with 6.39 percent and funds for basic materi

Aug. 2, 2016

Seoul shares open lower on falling oil prices

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as falling oil prices pressured down chemical stocks and gave pause to rallies in local equity prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.3 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,023.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Petrochemical shares slid as U.S. crude on Monday fell below $40 per barrel for the first time since April on concerns over a supply glut. Top refiner SK Innovation decreased 1.33 percent, and No. 3 S-Oil retreated 1.41 percent

Aug. 2, 2016

'Anipang' to drive SundayToz growth

The power of gaming content is evident nowadays as a growing number of smartphone users seek quality and entertaining content whenever and wherever. Just look at Nintendo and its affiliate Niantic, which recently hit the jackpot with the augmented-reality mobile game “Pokemon Go” based on the animated character series. Similarly, Korea’s listed gamer SundayToz expects to see growth with its flagship puzzle game “Anipang.” The success of its new “Anipang” game series will be reflected in its earn

Aug. 1, 2016

LG Uplus reports 12.8% rise in Q2 profit

LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's third-largest mobile carrier, said Monday its net profit for the second quarter rose 12.8 percent from a year earlier, thanks to curbs in marketing spending. LG Uplus reported a net profit of 130.7 billion won ($117.4 million) for the April-June period, compared with a profit of 115.9 billion won for the same quarter last year, according to the company's regulatory filing. South Korean telecom firms have benefited from a 2015 law that kept fierce competition to woo

Aug. 1, 2016

Korean shares up in late morning trading

South Korean shares traded 0.67 percent up in late Monday morning as strong foreign buying boosted local shares.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index scored 13.43 points to 2,029.62 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares led the gains. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics surged 2.14 percent, continuing its rally after posting robust second-quarter earnings, and chip giant SK hynix advanced 1.31 percent.Auto shares were in the positive terrain. Industry leader Hyundai Motor increased 1.89 percent

Aug. 1, 2016

Listed firms' stock buybacks up 245% on-year in first 7 months

Share buybacks by South Korea's listed companies increased 244.8 percent on-year to 6.31 trillion won ($5.6 billion) in the first seven months of this year from a year earlier, data showed Monday.A total of 64 companies -- listed on the main bourse and the tech-heavy Kosdaq market -- had announced the share buybacks in regulatory filings as of July 27, compared with 1.83 trillion won by 47 firms from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the bourse operator Korea Exchange.By market,

Aug. 1, 2016

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, taking its cue from gains in Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 10.32 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,026.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares led the gains. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics surged 2.14 percent, continuing its rally after posting robust second-quarter earnings, and chip giant SK hynix advanced 1.74 percent.Auto shares were in the positive terrain. Industry leader Hyundai Motor increased 1.14 pe

Aug. 1, 2016

[Monitor] Finance industry tops average monthly wage

Workers in finance and insurance earned the most at a monthly average of 5.37 million won ($4,830) in May, followed by employees working at electricity, gas and water supply services with 4.89 million won, according to the Labor Ministry. The average monthly wage of a regular worker at a business with more than five employees stood at 3.13 million won, up 2.9 percent from a year ago.

July 31, 2016

Shares forecast to remain range-bound this week

South Korean shares are expected to remain in a tight range this week as investors are forecast to take the sidelines ahead of key economic events around the globe, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,016.19 points on Friday, up 0.40 percent from a week ago.The index started almost unchanged this week as investors took to the sidelines waiting for the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting results. This week, investors are forecast to await the release o

July 31, 2016

Korea‘s income tax exemption rate tops 48% in 2014

The ratio of South Korean workers exempt from paying earned income taxes reached 48.1 percent in 2014, higher than numbers found in other advanced economies, a local report said Sunday.According to the July edition of the Finance Forum released by the Korea Institute of Public Finance (KIPF), the percentage of Korean workers who did not pay taxes on their income has been falling from 47.6 percent in 2006 to 32.4 percent in 2013, but jumped sharply the following year. The sharp increase in 2014 f

July 31, 2016

[Photo News] Policy briefing to CEOs

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho speaks about the nation’s economic policy direction for the second half of this year during a CEO Summer Forum organized by the Federation of Korean Industries in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, Saturday. (Finance Ministry)

July 31, 2016

Midterm dividends by listed firms unlikely to meet last year's level

The overall value of midterm dividends paid out by South Korea's listed companies is unlikely to meet last year's level despite improved earnings performances, the main stock exchange said Sunday.Twenty-three out of 34 listed firms that plan to deliver midterm dividends for their earnings results in the January-June period have paid out a combined 663.6 billion won ($595 million) to their shareholders. Given this, even if the remaining 11 firms complete their dividend payouts, the total midterm

July 31, 2016

Samsung chairman couple's equities soar 1.6 tln won in past 7 months

Equity assets owned by Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee and his wife soared 1.6 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in the past seven months helped by gains in its chipmaking affiliate, an industry tracker said Sunday. The value of equity assets, including shares in Samsung Electronics Co., held by the Samsung chief and his wife, Hong Ra-hee, jumped 13 percent to 14.13 trillion won as of July 29 from 12.51 trillion won on Jan. 4, data provided by Chaebul.com showed.The sharp gain in their combined equ

July 31, 2016

Lotte Capital CEO Kobayashi resigns

[THE INVESTOR] Masamoto Kobayashi, chief executive of Lotte Capital, has resigned, according to Lotte Group on July 29.Kobayashi is known as the central link between the flow of funds between Lotte’s Korean and Japanese operations. “We understand he stepped down to focus on Japan’s Lotte Holdings business,” said one Lotte official, declining to be identified. Kobayashi has concurrently held the post of chief finance officer of Lotte Holdings. He was CEO of Lotte Capital since 2007 and was the on

July 29, 2016

Foreign funds record net outflow from S. Korean bonds

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean securities saw a net outflow of foreign funds amounting to 2.7 trillion won (US$ 2.40 billion) during the first six months of the year, the Bank of Korea said in a report on July 29.  (123rf)The bank said that the net outflow was recorded due to investors choosing not to invest funds they reclaimed from matured bonds, despite the net inflow seen from March to May. By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

July 29, 2016