NPS to up global investments in 2017-2021

Korea’s National Pension Service, which manages the world’s third-largest public pension fund after Japan and Norway, said it decided to increase the fund’s allocation in global investments in its mid-to-long-term fund investment portfolio.According to the plan finalized at the health minister-led fund management committee Monday, the combined proportion of investment in global equities, bonds and alternatives will increase to more than 35 percent of the total fund by 2021 from 24.3 percent as o

May 16, 2016

Interest rate spread narrows to record low in 2015

The gap between banks' savings and lending rates narrowed to a record low level last year due to declines in the country's base rates, data showed Monday. The spread between savings and lending interest rates stood at 1.97 percentage points at the end of 2015, compared with 2.18 percentage points in 2014, according to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Lending section of a commercial bank branch in Seoul (Yonhap)Last year's figure marks the narrowest spread since 1999

May 16, 2016

Korea's foreign currency deposits rise to 5-month high in April

Foreign currency deposits at banks in Korea grew for the second straight month in April, climbing to a five-month high on an increase in U.S. dollar holdings, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local residents came to $62.04 billion as of April 29, according to the Bank of Korea.The April reading marks a $1.47 billion rise from the previous month and the highest level since $62.31 billion tallied in November. Local residents include firms and foreign na

May 16, 2016

Foreigners invest more in South Korean stocks in April

Foreign investors bought a net 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) worth of South Korean stocks last month, the country’s financial regulator said Monday. Foreigners continued to stand as net buyers for Korean stocks for a second consecutive month in April. Their accumulated holdings of local stocks was valued at 432.8 trillion won, or 29 percent of the country‘s total market capitalization, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement.  Traders at the New York Stock Exchange. (Yonhap)The FSS

May 16, 2016

Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

Korean shares opened lower Monday to track overnight losses in New York.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.49 points or 0.13 percent to 1,964.50 in the first 15 minutes of trading. South Korean share prices are displayed at the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)Investor sentiment was down following losses on Wall Street, analysts said. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.05 percent to close at 17,535.32 on Friday.In Seoul, large caps such as auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis and top c

May 16, 2016

Hyundai Merchant invites ship owners to Korea for chartering fee talks

Ailing Hyundai Merchant Marine is expected to meet with some foreign ship owners here next week to wrap up negotiations on leasing fee cuts in a bid to stay afloat, the company said Sunday. Lowering chartering rates is a crucial part of the country’s No. 2 shipping line’s pledges when it signed a “conditional” debt settlement agreement with its creditors in March. “Hyundai Merchant Marine plans to invite major ship owners next week to enter the final stage of the negotiation over the chartering

May 15, 2016

Daewoo Shipbuilding to unveil new rescue plan

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is planning more intensive self-rescue measures to restructure its debt by the end of this month as the shipyard is struggling to stay afloat with weaker-than-expected orders this year, according to the company on Sunday. Jung Sung-Leep, chief executive of Daewoo Shipbuilding, told the firm’s employees that additional proposals will have to include massive job cuts, pay freeze and closing down some of its docks.“To convince the government, our creditors a

May 15, 2016

Government, central bank divided over bank recapitalization

Various scenarios have emerged as to how the government and the central bank will recapitalize policy banks for the restructuring of shipping and shipbuilding companies.However, the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission have not yet devised their unified action plan, although they have confirmed their differences over the issue.Despite the goal of reaching a compromise in bank recapitalization by next month, the central bank’s stance remains unchanged. It sugg

May 15, 2016

‘Creation of high-quality jobs essential for small businesses’

Job creation is at the center of the government’s policy to promote the creative economy. However, the government has made little progress in expanding the job market partly due to the prolonged global economic slowdown. Hence, it is striving to address the issue from a corporate perspective and it is against this backdrop that the government has appointed Joo Young-sup who has a 30-year background in business to head the Small and Medium Business Administration, a government agency that support

May 15, 2016

[Market Now] Hyundai Heavy reviews selling stake in Hi Investment & Securities

Korea’s cash-strapped top shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries said it has looked into selling its stake in local brokerage Hi Investment & Securities but has no detailed plan to do so.“It is true that the company has reviewed various methods including selling a stake in a financial firm. But nothing has been decided in detail,” the company said in a regulatory filing.Hyundai Heavy’s smaller affiliate Hyundai Mipo Dockyard holds an 85.3 percent stake in Hi Investment & Securities.Hyundai Heavy s

May 13, 2016

Mirae Asset, Daewoo securities to merge

Mirae Asset Financial Group will merge its two brokerage units – Mirae Asset Securities and Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities -- in November, the group announced Friday. The planned merger, widely expected after the group’s acquisition last year of Mirae Asset Daewoo, formerly KDB Daewoo, will create a titanic new leader with nearly 8 trillion of total assets in Korea’s fragmented securities sector.  Park Hyeon-joo, chairman of Mirae Asset Financial Group (Yonhap)“Mirae Asset Daewoo will merge Mirae

May 13, 2016

KDB to speed up stake sales this year

 The state-run Korea Development Bank said it wants to speed up the sales of its stakes in non-financial companies this year to put more focus on its own business and improve efficiency.Earlier this year, the policy bank had announced its plan to sell off stakes in 46 companies within this year, among the 132 non-financial companies that KDB wants to divest by 2018. The 132 are those in which KDB has a 15 percent or higher equity stake, or those in which the bank has secured a stake of 5 percent

May 13, 2016

BOK freezes rate for 11th month

The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee on Friday left the base interest rate unchanged at a record-low 1.5 percent for the 11th consecutive month in May. The decision was expected by 11 of 12 analysts in a Yonhap News survey. The rate freeze comes as the Korean central bank comes under increasing pressure to provide liquidity to two policy banks which are heavily exposed to troubled shipping and shipbuilding industries. Discussions on how to recapitalize the state-run lenders are currentl

May 13, 2016

[Market Now] Doosan out, LG in MSCI index

LG Household and Health Care will join MSCI’s index of global equities, which are tracked by global funds, while Doosan will be out, the index provider announced in Geneva on Thursday.The changes will be implemented as of the close of May 31, 2016. The news lifted shares in LG Household 0.86 percent higher to 1,050,000 won ($896) apiece on the Seoul bourse on Friday, against the broader KOSPI‘s 0.53 percent decline. Doosan tanked 6.54 percent to 97,200 won per share. MSCI reviews its indices fou

May 13, 2016

Net fund assets exceed 450 tln won amid low rates

Net fund assets operated by South Korean asset management companies have recently exceeded 450 trillion won ($385 billion) as investors opt for higher-yielding products away from low-rate bank products, an asset investment association said Friday. The total net asset size of publicly and privately placed funds under the management of local asset managers reached 450.67 trillion won as of May 11, jumping from 401.9 trillion won on March 13 last year, according to data from the Korea Financial Inv

May 13, 2016

NPS picked as ‘best investor from Asia Pacific’

Korea’s National Pension Service said it has been selected as the best institutional investor in the Asia Pacific region by London-based real estate magazine IP Real Estate on Friday.The magazine annually awards best performers in real estate investment by regions and themes.The NPS reaped 12.3 percent in annual return for alternative investments including real estate and private equity in 2015, while the average return was 4.6 percent for the total fund. Its alternative investments in overseas

May 13, 2016

BOK holds key rate steady at 1.5%for May

South Korea's central bank kept its key rate steady at 1.5 percent for the month on Friday, extending its wait-and-see mode for the 11th consecutive month.The Bank of Korea has stood pat on the policy rate since June 2015 after sending it to a record low level to help bolster growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy.Friday's decision by the BOK monetary policy board comes amid continued signs of a sagging economy.South Korea's exports have fallen every single month since the start of last year, p

May 13, 2016

Korean shares open tad lower ahead of BOK meeting

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower on Friday as investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the central bank's rate-setting meeting.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.43 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,977.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors remained on the sidelines as the Bank of Korea is to hold its monetary policy meeting. It is widely expected to keep its rate unchanged for May.The local currency was trading at 1,171.6 won against the U.S. dollar, d

May 13, 2016

Public financial firms embracing performance pay to receive early incentives

Korea's financial regulator on Thursday said it was considering paying incentives early to public companies that adopt the performance-based salary system ahead of the scheduled deadline in December.The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is mulling over an early payment of incentives to the country's nine public financial companies, including the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank Korea), if they introduce the performance-based pay scheme as part of their

May 12, 2016

Seoul shares down 0.13% on tech, auto losses

Korean stocks closed down 0.13 percent on Thursday, dragged down by losses in tech and auto shares, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.61 points to end at 1,977.49. Trade volume totaled 445.99 million shares worth 4.04 trillion won ($3.47 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 422 to 362. The market started lower in tandem with overnight losses on Wall Street and moved in and out of positive terrain be

May 12, 2016