Over 70% of listed firms disclose consolidated financial statements

More than 70 percent of firms listed on the South Korean equity market disclosed their consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year 2015, a government tally showed Wednesday.Among the 1,846 listed companies, 1,327, or 71.9 percent, made public their CFSs, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The number jumped by 73 from a year earlier but the ratio dropped 1.9 percentage points due to an increase in the number of listed firms.The number of subsidiaries owned by the listed comp

July 27, 2016

[Graphic News] Number of Korean centenarians surges

The number of South Koreans aged 100 and older soared to top 3,000 last year as the country is rapidly heading to an aged society, government data showed Monday.A total of 3,159 centenarians were living in the country whose total population amounts to 50.62 million as of November 2015. The number is up from 1,835 tallied five years earlier, according to the census data compiled by Statistics Korea. Among the centenarians, 2,731, or 86.5 percent, are female.　Their secret to living a long life is

July 26, 2016

SC Bank,Samsung Card create synergy with credit cards

Newly introduced credit cards jointly issued by Standard Chartered Bank Korea and Samsung Card are putting a smile on the faces of users and companies.It is the first time in the finance sector that a bank and a credit card company has collaborated. The two financial firms in February inked a deal to launch credit cards that provide a wide range of benefits. Models promote the new credit card jointly issued by SC Bank Korea and Samsung Card. (SC Bank Korea)The most notable advantage is the 360 R

July 26, 2016

NPS lending stocks worth W718b

The National Pension Service has lent out some 700 billion won ($617 million) worth of its shares to other parties, a lawmaker revealed Tuesday. NPS is South Korea’s largest investor, with 90 trillion won worth of local stocks. According to Rep. Park Yong-jin of the liberal opposition Minjoo Party, the pension fund’s stock loaning has risen steadily from an average balance of 425 billion won in 2013 to 697.9 billion in 2015. As of June 30, the balance has risen to 718 billion won, with shares in

July 26, 2016

Korean companies secondary offerings rise in H1

[THE INVESTOR] More companies raised cash through secondary offerings during the first half of this year than a year earlier, industry data showed on July 26. According to the Korea Securities Depository, 161 companies raised more than 5.48 trillion won (US$4.83 billion) during the first six months of the year. Compared to the same period last year, the number of companies taking such action increased 34.2 percent, while the amount raised saw a 16.1 percent increase. The number of new shares, ho

July 26, 2016

UK fintech firm Anthemis to operate US$10m fund with Hanwha Life

[THE INVESTOR] Anthemis Group, one of UK’s leading fintech investment firm, has joined hands with Hanwha Life to operate a US$10 million (11.3 billion won) fund. Anthemis was founded in 2010. Its main area of expertise is investing in financial services companies, mainly those in retail banking and consumer finance, data technology and infrastructure, and wealth and asset management. Hanwha Life headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul.Hanwha currently manages up to 100 trillion won (US$ 87.88 billion) of

July 26, 2016

Credit card spending jumps 14% on base effect

South Korea's credit card spending soared nearly 14 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier when the nation's economy was hit by the spread of the MERS viral respiratory disease, statistics showed Tuesday.Credit card purchases totaled 178.4 trillion won ($156 billion) during the April-June period, a 13.8 percent on-year rise, according to the data from the Credit Finance Association.The upswing is largely due to a base effect. South Koreans slashed their consumption in the second quart

July 26, 2016

SK hynix reports lowest earnings in more than 3 years

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix Inc. on Tuesday reported its lowest quarterly profit in 13 quarters as falling demand for smartphones and computers hit chip prices. SK hynix posted a net profit of 286.1 billion won ($250.4 million) in the April-June period, down 74.2 percent from the same period last year. Second-quarter operating profit dipped 67.1 percent on year to 452.8 billion won. Sales fell 15 percent to 3.9 trillion won. Compared with the previous quarter, sales rose 7.8 percent as shipm

July 26, 2016

Chinese firms vie for ING Life Korea acquisition

Yet another Korean life insurance company may be taken over by China. The race to acquire ING Life Insurance’s Korean unit is shaping up to be an all-China affair, with the final round of bidding scheduled to open early next month, local reports said Monday. According to Yonhap News and other media outlets, three Chinese companies are currently in the running: Hong Kong-based investment manager JD Capital, Taiping Insurance Group and Fosun International.China Life and Anbang Life -- two acquisit

July 25, 2016

Small and Medium Business Corp. to issue US$300m bonds

[THE INVESTOR] Small and Medium Business Corp. (SBC) will issue US dollar-denominated bonds at the end of August, local news reported on July 25. Reports citing unnamed sources said that the SBC is planning a bond issuance to the scale of US$300 million. This will be the first time is issuing dollar-denominated bonds in 10 years. The SBC is reported to be planning to use the raised funds to cover the maturity of foreign currency-denominated bonds during the second half of the year. By Choi He-su

July 25, 2016

S-Oil Q2 net rises 3.8% on refining, petrochemicals

S-Oil Corp., the No. 3 oil refiner in South Korea, said Monday that its second-quarter net profit gained 3.8 percent from a year earlier, largely thanks to an improvement in its refining business and other areas.Net profit reached 445 billion won ($391 million) on a consolidated basis in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 429 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales dropped 18.4 percent on-year to reach 4.19 trillion won in the second quarter, while

July 25, 2016

Banks required to set aside more foreign exchange reserves

South Korea's top financial regulator said Monday that it would mandate local banks to set aside more foreign exchange reserves starting next year to better deal with any possible massive foreign capital outflows.The local banks are required to raise the foreign exchange liquidity coverage ratio to 80 percent in 2019 from 60 percent in 2017, the Financial Services Commission said.The liquidity coverage ratio is measured as high-quality liquid foreign assets to projected net cash outflows over 30

July 25, 2016

LINE to announce 2Q earnings on July 27

[THE INVESTOR] Naver, the parent firm of mobile messenger operator LINE, said July 27 that an investors conference for the messenger firm will be held from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on July 27 in Tokyo after the second-quarter earnings report is announced at around 3 p.m. on the same day.The InvestorThe mobile messenger company went public on July 5 in Tokyo and New York and its stock price closed up 4.18 percent at 4,110 yen (US$38.70) on July 25.(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

July 25, 2016

Korean stocks end almost flat

South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Monday as investors took to the sidelines waiting for a slew of key data and economic events in the coming days. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 1.98 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 2,012.32. Trade volume was slim at 346.73 million shares worth 4.14 trillion won ($3.64 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 436 to 374.Market analysts say the market is expected to remain in a tig

July 25, 2016