Shares spike over 1% on foreign buying, surprise over Samsung’s earnings

Korean stocks closed significantly higher Thursday, clearly rebounding from a dip on the previous day on an earnings surprise from tech giant Samsung Electronics. The local currency also advanced against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index spiked 20.96 points, or 1.07 percent, to 1,974.08. Trade volume was moderate at 374.6 million shares, worth 3.87 trillion won ($3.35 billion). Gainers outnumbered losers 607 to 208. The sharp rise came one day after foreign investor

July 7, 2016

Chaebol ‘owners’ control groups with 0.9% shares

The tycoons of Korea’s top 10 family-run conglomerates, or chaebol, control their empire with less than 1 percent of equity stake ownership, but are backed by a record-high level of intragroup shareholdings, the nation’s antitrust agency said Thursday. According to the Fair Trade Commission, “owners” of the country’s top 10 chaebol groups hold an average 0.9 percent of their group’s total shares as of April 1, unchanged from last year, but down from 2.9 percent in 1998. Their relatives currently

July 7, 2016

KDB to invest in mainland Chinese stocks

[THE INVESTOR] The Korea Development Bank, a state-owned policy bank, said on July 7 that it has started investing in China’s onshore stock markets as a renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor. The KDB plans to put some 1 billion yuan of funds into securities and bonds listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as China’s interbank bond market. The Korea Development Bank“As a policy bank representing Korea, we will play a major role in the financial cooperation between the

July 7, 2016

NPS selects 7 firms for venture fund

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s National Pension Service has named seven private equity firms to run 200 billion won ($172 million) of its funds, the pension giant said on Thursday. The NPS, which oversees $430 billion in assets, hired Aju IB Investment and KTB Network as general manager of the venture fund. Five others including Medici Investment, Seoul Investment Partners, Wonik Investment Partners, Innopolis Partners and G.N.Tech Venture Capital were named as preliminary mangers. “Through the ve

July 7, 2016

AIIB seeks replacement of Hong Kyttack

[THE INVESTOR] The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected to start searching for a replacement for Hong Kyttack, one of its chief risk officers, as soon as the bank president Jin Liqun returns from an overseas business trip this month. Hong had been serving as chief risk officer for just a few months before he came under fire in Korea for exposing the inadequacy of state-run Korea Development Bank, at which he had previously served as president. AIIB was not available for comment. Ther

July 7, 2016

AIIB to start looking for replacement for South Korean exec this month

[THE INVESTOR] The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected to start searching for a replacement for Hong Kyttack, one of its chief risk officers, as soon as the bank president Jin Liqun returns from an overseas business trip this month. Hong had been serving as chief risk officer for just a few months before he came under fire in Korea for exposing the inadequacy of state-run Korea Development Bank, at which he had previously served as president. AIIB was not available for comment. Hong

July 7, 2016

Samsung Venture Investment one of world’s top 5 strategic investors

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Venture Investment is one of this year’s top five strategic investors funding start-ups in terms of investment volume, the company said on July 7.“We are in the top bracket, and have been there for several years now,” said Kim Young-min, a spokesperson for the firm. He added that the specific amount or recipients of the funding could not be revealed, other than those that have already been released to the media. Samsung Venture Investment‘s main function is to invest in st

July 7, 2016

Gov’t to offer tax credit to firms investing in ventures

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean companies investing in venture companies will be given tax credits, as part of the government’s measures for boosting investment revealed on July 7. According to the plans, local companies that directly invest in ventures, or place money in investment funds specializing in venture companies will be given tax credits on 5 percent of the funds involved. The measure, which will apply to local companies and financial institutions, will be established during the final quar

July 7, 2016

Trading value plunges on Brexit woes

[THE INVESTOR] The value of daily share trading on the Korean stock market has significantly declined in July as market volatility has spiked in recent weeks due to the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, following an upward trend during the second quarter this year, according to the local bourse operator Korea Exchange on July 7.Average daily trading value of the benchmark KOSPI and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ stood at 8.46 trillion won (US$7.3 billion) during the first six days of July, down

July 7, 2016

NPS selects 7 firms for venture fund

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s National Pension Service has named seven private equity firms to run 200 billion won (US$172 million) of its funds, the pension giant said on July 7. The NPS, which oversees $430 billion in assets, hired Aju IB Investment and KTB Network as general manager of the venture fund. Five others including Medici Investment, Seoul Investment Partners, Wonik Investment Partners, Innopolis Partners and G.N.Tech Venture Capital were named as preliminary mangers. National Pensio

July 7, 2016

Morgan Stanley biggest short seller of Korean stocks

[THE INVESTOR] Foreign securities companies led by Morgan Stanley & Co. International are the biggest short sellers betting against Korean stocks, according to the local bourse operator Korea Exchange on July 6. As the KRX started to impose a new regulation obligating investors to reveal their short positions and information about their identities publicly from June 30, a total of 414 cases were reported, according to filings made under the new regulatory regime.Morgan Stanley headquartersAccord

July 6, 2016

[ANALYST REPORT] Fair Trade Commission rejects SKT’s bid for CJ Hellovision

Yonhap News reported last night that the Fair Trade Commission, in its M&A assessment report, had rejected SKT’s bid to acquire CJ Hellovision, saying it would hinder competition. The FTC pointed out that the combined entity would control more than 60% of the market in 21 of the total of 23 broadcast areas in which CJ operates, thus hurting competition. The two companies have yet to issue an official comment. Decision difficult to understand The decision, if true, is hard to understand for a num

July 6, 2016

Number of wealthy Koreans surged in 2015

Koreans with financial assets worth more than 1 billion won ($860,000) jumped 15.9 percent last year from a year earlier helped by increased returns from their investments in equities and real estate, a private think-tank report said Wednesday.The number of such deep-pocket Koreans climbed to 211,000 in 2015 from 182,000 the previous year, according to KB Financial Group's research institute."In the first half of last year, ample liquidity was injected into the markets to help support growth. A

July 6, 2016

Woori Bank, oldest top 500 firm in South Korea

With a history of 105 years, Woori Bank is the oldest among South Korea’s largest 500 companies by sales, according to CEO Score, a website devoted to monitoring local conglomerates.Among the 500, almost half were found to be more than 40 years old, while another 12 percent are over 60 years old. Combined, those aged 20 years or older accounted for 82 percent of the firms.Woori BankIn contrast, just 18 percent were “younger” companies aged 20 years or less. On average, the top 500 companies were

July 6, 2016

[Photo News] Joining Hands

Lee Dong-geun (fourth from left), standing vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, poses with Lim Chae-un (third from left), president of the Small and Medium Business Corporation and others in Seoul on Wednesday, after signing an agreement to cooperate to support local SMEs in going global. (KCCI)

July 6, 2016

Korea's finance minister vows stronger fiscal expansion

 Korea's finance minister on Wednesday pledged stronger fiscal expansion for Asia's fourth-largest economy when external risks come to realization."When the current external risks become reality, the fiscal authority will take aggressive action as it did in the past,"Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a government meeting on fiscal strategy in Seoul. "In order to take such roles, the government has to make constant efforts to maintain sound public finance."The Korean government unveiled a set of

July 6, 2016

Japan Tourism Corporation seeks KOSDAQ listing

[THE INVESTOR] Japan Tourism Corporation, which runs duty-free stores for foreign visitors in Japan, plans to list its shares on South Korea’s secondary bourse KOSDAQ next year, according to sources on July 6. It is the first time that a Japanese firm is seeking an initial public offering on the Seoul bourse after Japanese mortgage bank SBI Mortgage went public in 2012. Japan Tourism Corporation's duty-free store in TokyoHeadquartered in Fukuoka City, JTC is entirely owned by Korean native Ku Ch

July 6, 2016

Bioleaders to float shares on KOSDAQ on July 7

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Bioleaders has passed the final review for transferring its stocks to the country’s tech-heavy KOSDAQ from KONEX, the bourse operator Korea Exchange said on July 5. BioleadersBioleaders will be listed on KOSDAQ on July 7 with the indicative share price set at 15,000 won (US$12.87). Established in 1999, the firm has a range of core technologies to develop next-generation immunity treatments. In 2015, Bioleaders logged 1.47 billion won in sales an

July 6, 2016