The South Korean government seeks to attract private companies to participate and bid for local railway projects beyond the Seoul and Gyeonggi metropolitan areas amid difficulties in financing infrastructure development with state capital.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Wednesday that the government seeks to attract some 20 trillion won ($17 billion) from the private sector to build and expand railway networks nationwide over the

July 6, 2016

Korea’s antitrust agency said Wednesday it has found no evidence of collusion among banks in setting three-month certificate of deposit rates, used as a benchmark for a large portion of consumer bank loans. “The investigation is closed due to lack of evidence,” said Kim Seok-ho, a standing commissioner of the Fair Trade Commission. “It is not that the banks are cleared of allegations. Should evidence surface in the future, the probe may reopen.” The FTC began looking into CD rate-fixing allegati

July 6, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The government will raise an additional 100 billion won (US$ 85.7 million) to help Korean construction firms take on infrastructure projects abroad. Only July 6, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Development Bank signed an agreement for establishing the third Global Infrastructure Fund. The fund is used to invest in overseas infrastructure projects conducted by local construction companies. The Korea Development Bank/ The InvestorThe ministry said th

July 6, 2016

The delinquency rate for loans extended by Korean banks slightly rose from a month earlier in May, but largely due to an increase in bad corporate loans, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.The average delinquency rate for bank loans came to 0.74 percent in May, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The May tally hit the highest level since November. The increase, however, was largely attributed to a rise in corporate loans, especially

July 6, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Securities said Korea Gas Corporation ’s stocks are considerably undervalued, trading at around 0.33 times price-to-book value. “We expect that KOGAS’ profit from overseas resources development projects to bottom out from July while domestic sales of liquefied natural gas remain stable,” said Yang Ji-hye, an analyst at the securities firm. Samsung Securities maintained its buy rating and price target of 58,000 won (US$49.90) for KOGAS. The stock was up 1.26 percent to 40,3

July 6, 2016

South Korean shares are likely to trade in the positive terrain this week as shock over Britain‘s decision last week to exit the European Union has eased, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 3.19 percent for the whole of this week to end at 1,987.32 this Friday, fully recovering the loss of 3.09 percent last Friday when Britain’s EU exit vote wiped out nearly 2.5 trillion won from global equity values. This week, analysts said the KOSPI will trade in the range of

July 5, 2016

-2Q16 operating profit estimated at W72.7bn (+8.4% YoY), missing consensus by 6% ¨ -Momentum from release of new mobile games based on Lineage IP from July-Retain BUY for a target price of W320,0002Q16 operating profit estimated at W72.7bn (+8.4% YoY), missing consensus by 6%We expect NCsoft to report 2Q16 sales of W225.3bn (+3.6% YoY) and operating profit of W72.7bn (+8.4% YoY). Lineage sales are estimated at W85.6bn (+8.6% QoQ) backed by the dragon’s treasure chest event (May 25 - June 22). Sa

July 5, 2016

Hyundai Motor (HMC) and Kia Motors saw their global shipments rise a respective 9.1% and 2% y-y in June as both firms offset weak exports with solid domestic sales and overseas plant shipments, while their global shipment volume fell a respective 0.9% and 4.6% y-y to 2.39m and 1.46m vehicles over January-June.● Domestic auto demand (excluding imports) grew 19.3% y-y in June—and 10.9% y-y to 812,000 vehicles in 1H—thanks to: 1) promotions with an excise tax cut expiring at month’s end; and 2) new

July 5, 2016

Zhin Woong-seob (second from right), governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, meets with a group of heads of foreign financial companies at a hotel in Seoul on Monday. Zhin called on foreign financial institutions to cooperate with the government in responding to any fallout from the U.K.’s departure from the European Union. (Yonhap)

July 5, 2016

 This is the first in a series of articles looking into Korea’s private equity market and its key players. -- Ed.When the National Pension Service announced last month its choice of fund managers to run large-cap equity investments, the market saw the return of the VOGO Fund, Korea’s oldest private equity house. Renamed VIG Partners, the firm was chosen as one of two firms to each invest a total of 250 billion won ($216 million) in domestic companies, winning a competition that is often likened

July 5, 2016

Korean commercial banks will consider adopting the performance-based pay system in a move to strengthen competitiveness amid low growth and low margins, a banks' lobby group said Tuesday. "We will announce the guidelines this month to help our 17 member banks introduce the performance-linked pay system. Most banks will wait and see what the guidelines will be about before they introduce or consider introducing the system," said Lee Kyung-hee, a spokeswoman for the Korea Federation of Banks. The

July 5, 2016

Consolidated OP of W676bn, 10.7% below consensus We believe separate 2Q16 OP of W652bn (+12% QoQ, +7.3% YoY) will miss our previous estimate by 9.3% and consensus by 3%. Due to expansion work at theGwangyang #5 blast furnace (from 3,950 cubic meters to 5,500 cubic meters), 2Q16 shipments should reach only 8.76mn tonnes; shy of our previous estimate of 8.96mn tonnes and the biggest reason for the lower OP outlook. Meanwhile, consolidated OP should reach W676bn (+2.5% QoQ, -1.5% YoY), 16.3% below

July 5, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Financial Supervisory Service Governor Zhin Woong-seob on July 5 called on foreign financial institutions to cooperate with the government in responding to any fallout from UK’s departure from the European Union. “Cooperation between the supervisory agency and foreign financial companies is needed to minimize negative impact of Brexit,” Zhin said at a meeting with the CEOs of the 15 foreign financial companies’ Korean operations. FSS Governor Zhin Woong-seobHe added that the gover

July 5, 2016

Korean shares opened a tad lower Tuesday as institutions and foreign investors sought to lock in early gains.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 5.15 points, or 0.26 percent, to 1,990.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Foreigners and institutional investors were net sellers.The KOSPI gained 0.03 percent Monday, further recovering from losses sparked by Britain's vote to leave the European Union two weeks ago. The index had gained 3.19 percent last week. Large market caps tra

July 5, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] State-run Korea Post’s insurance business arm has selected Dominus Investment and Lindman Asia Investment to manage its domestic private equity funds, according to local financial sources on July 4.Korea Post will be investing a total of 60 billion won (US$51.88 million), with Dominuns and Lindman Asia each receiving 30 billion won. Up to 10 different PEFs vied for the Korea Post portfolio, according to the postal company. Dominus Investment mostly invests in convertible bonds, bo

July 4, 2016

South Korean stocks ended 0.40 percent higher on Monday, rising for the sixth consecutive day, as market jitters over Brexit continued to taper off. The South Korean won inched down against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 7.98 points to 1,995.30. The figure topped the psychologically important 1990-mark.Trading volume came to 462 million shares worth 4.04 trillion won ($3.52 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 450 to 353.Foreigners net-purchased 153

July 4, 2016

Canon, Sony and Nikon may spring to mind when people think of consumer digital camera brands, while Arri and Panavision would be the most sought-after motion picture cameras for filmmakers.In the world of high tech industries such as health care, displays and semiconductors, a highly sophisticated camera is needed to spot the tiniest flaws in assembly lines or spot health irregularities inside human bodies. High-performance industrial cameras by Vieworks.(Vieworks)This is where Vieworks comes in

July 4, 2016

The total assets under management of South Korean insurers will reach 1,000 trillion won ($868 billion) sometime in the second half of this year on growing demand for post-retirement products, industry data showed Monday. As of the end of April, domestic life and non-life insurers held a combined 977.59 trillion won in assets, up 2.9 percent from the 950.1 trillion won at the end of December, according to data offered by local insurers. "People are more concerned about life after retirement as K

July 4, 2016

New foreign direct investment pledged to South Korea hit a new record high in the first six months of the year despite rising business uncertainties at home and abroad, the government said Monday.Fresh FDI committed to the country in the January-June period came to $10.52 billion, up 18.6 percent from $8.87 billion a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.It marked the largest amount of FDI pledged in history on a half-year basis, surpassing the earlier record of $

July 4, 2016