Seoul shares open lower on N. Korean threats

South Korean share prices opened lower on Wednesday following threats from North Korea that it will wage a “retaliatory war” against the Park Geun-hye administration.But the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soon edged up, trading nearly flat at 1997.63 points as of 10:28 a.m.  Traders monitor Seoul share prices at the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)Earlier this morning, a North Korean committee handling inter-Korean relations said Pyongyang and its army “will push for a retaliatory war to el

March 23, 2016

[Market Now] Dongbu Securities’ acquisition fund takes over Group Eight

Dongbu 4th Special Purpose Acquisition, a KOSDAQ-listed SPC, said in its regulatory filing Wednesday that it has acquired Creative Leaders Group Eight, a privately-held content production house.The acquisition fund of Dongbu Securities said that it will help Group Eight finance content such as TV dramas and musicals. Following the takeover, Group Eight’s corporate name will cease to exist, but its production operations will continue, according to Dongbu’s disclosure filing.Headquarters of Dongbu

March 23, 2016

[Market Now] Seoul court dismisses injunction against Hyundai Cement execs

Hyundai Cement said in its disclosure filing Wednesday that the Seoul Central District Court had dismissed an injunction filed by former chairman Chung Mong-sun against the company’s executives, including CEO Lee Joo-hwan.Chung filed for an injunction with the court last October to suspend the appointments of the executives amid a battle over the company’s ownership. The Seoul court said Chung’s claims did not suffice to justify an injunction.Chung tried in vain to plead his case to take over th

March 23, 2016

[Graphic News] Koreans’ overseas card spending hits record in 2015

Koreans’ use of plastic overseas hit an all-time high last year due to an increase in their outbound travel and direct buying from overseas online shops, according to industry data released Monday. The Credit Finance Association said overseas credit and debit card spending reached a combined $13.26 billion in 2015, up 8.7 percent from a year earlier. Card spending by foreign visitors in Korea fell 13.2 percent on-year to $10.05 billion during the same period, as foreigners delayed planned trips

March 22, 2016

Mirae Asset chairman still ‘thirsty for deals’

Just days after it inked a $2 billion deal to take over a bigger rival, Mirae Asset Securities is looking at another acquisition target.  The brokerage unit of Mirae Asset Financial Group is exploring a takeover of Hyundai Securities, Korea’s fourth-largest securities firm with 3.2 trillion won ($2.76 billion) in assets, it said.    Behind Mirae Asset’s seemingly relentless push for expansion is its charismatic boss Park Hyeon-joo who harbors an ambition to grow his Korean empire to be Asia’s to

March 22, 2016

Korea urged to curb household debt

The foreign financial community urged the country’s regulators Tuesday to keep rising household debt in check as it could hinder growth and efforts for structural reforms, amid numerous challenges faced by the Korean economy this year.As Korea is Asia’s fourth-largest economy and has achieved resilient growth over the years, the country’s “debt is manageable,” said Philippe Noirot, country head of BNP Paribas Korea, at the 8th FSS SPEAKS hosted by the Financial Supervisory Service in Seoul.But i

March 22, 2016

Moody‘s keeps stable outlook for Korea’s non-financial firms

U.S. credit rating agency Moody’s said Tuesday that credit outlooks for Korea’s nonfinancial corporations are stable and are likely to remain so for this year due to their austerity efforts and steady earnings.  But it warned that a further slowdown in the Chinese economy could have a major impact on Korean exporters.  "Most rated companies are leaders in their respective markets and have stronger than average financial profiles, enabling them to cope better with external challenges,” Moody’s as

March 22, 2016

Doosan to open bids for DST sale this week

Doosan Corp. is expected to open bids for its defense subsidiary Doosan DST on March 25, according to news reports. Doosan DST's armored vehicle (Doosan DST)Doosan, which owns a 51 percent stake in DST through its special purpose company, DIP Holdings, has been seeking to sell the armored vehicle manufacturer since late last year, as it has been realigning its core business to improve the group’s finances amid a liquidity crunch. Credit Suisse is managing the sale of DST. Doosan’s private equity

March 22, 2016

Finance minister calls for completion of fiscal frontloading for Q1

South Korea's finance minister on Tuesday called for making all-out efforts to achieve its plan to pour out nearly half of its annual budget in the first quarter in order to pump-prime an economy struggling with faltering exports.The government earlier said it will spend 144 trillion won ($116.6 billion) out of the 330.6 trillion won budget for 2016 in the first three months of the year, as key economic data showed that the country is facing some tough challenges, including a sharp downturn in o

March 22, 2016

Hanwha Life enhances security to better protect personal information

Hanwha Life Insurance said it has strengthened its information security system to better protect personal information of its customers.The nation’s second-largest insurer said it has built a separate information storage system to keep its customers’ information for longer than five years when necessary. Hanwha building in SeoulUnder the current law, a financial firm is obliged to delete all personal information of a customer within five years from the time the firm’s contract with the customer e

March 22, 2016

Insurance frauds hit record high last year

False claims for insurance money jumped 9.2 percent to reach a record high last year as hospitals and insurance planners got involved in large-scale insurance fraud, government data showed Tuesday.The amount of false insurance claims climbed to 655 billion won ($564 million) in terms of payments last year, up from 599.7 billion won a year earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement.Financial Supervisory Service headquarters in Seoul (Yonhap)The value of false insurance c

March 22, 2016

Need for Korea's rate cut could grow, but effect uncertain: report

The need for a rate cut may become stronger for Korea as advanced countries continue monetary easing, but whether it will help improve the real economy is questionable, a report from an economic think tank said Tuesday."The recent monetary easing policy by key nations, rebound in oil prices and softened worries of the Chinese economy's hard landing helped stabilize the global financial market," the report from LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI), authored by senior researcher Lee Chang-seon,

March 22, 2016

TCC Steel to sell subsidiary in open bid

TCC Steel, manufacturer of coated steel plates, said Tuesday that it will resume sale of its subsidiary TCC Bend Korea through an open bid. “The company has not finalized the details about disposing of stake in TCC Bend Korea,” it said in a regulatory filing.TCC Steel’s previous attempt to auction off its subsidiary in September last year failed, due to a lack of interest from potential buyers. Deloitte Anjin was its deal advisor at that time.With the same accounting firm as advisor, TCC Steel w

March 22, 2016

Tong Yang exploring acquisition of local PHC maker

Tong Yang Inc. said Tuesday it is seeking to acquire Sambu Construction Industrial, a local maker of construction materials. In a regulatory filing, the company said it had submitted a letter of intent to take over Sambu Construction Industrial on March 14.Having graduated from a 28-month period of court receivership last month, Tong Yang sits on a cash pile of nearly 500 billion won after selling assets to repay debt, including a controlling stake in Tong Yang Cement. Tong Yang Inc., whose main

March 22, 2016

More people shopped on mobile phones in 2015

More than half the online consumers in Seoul used mobile phones to shop in 2015, according to a poll on Monday. Government data showed that 66.7 percent of online consumers said they used smartphones for shopping. The figure reflects a 20-percentage point jump from the previous year. The data was based on a survey conducted by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning on people aged 12 or older in 2,973 households in Seoul.Last year, 46.4 percent of people used mobile devices including ph

March 22, 2016

Seoul shares start higher on New York gains

South Korean share prices opened in the positive on Tuesday following gains in New York. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.31 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,994.07 in the first 15 minutes of trading. As of 9:52 a.m., it was trading almost flat at 1991.94 points.  Seoul share prices are displayed on an electronic board at the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average inched up 0.12 percent to 17,623.87, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended nearly flat 4,8

March 22, 2016

Hyundai Merchant Marine seeks self-rescue measures

Cash-strapped shipper Hyundai Merchant Marine said Monday that it will seek an approval of its creditors for self-rescue measures to improve its financial status.The nation’s second-largest shipping company said in a regulatory filing that “it filed for comanagement with its creditors” to tide over its liquidity crunch through a self-rescue plan.Following the regulatory filing, the stock trading has been halted until 9 a.m. Tuesday.The state-run Korea Development Bank and other creditors are to

March 22, 2016

Korean stocks end lower on institutional sell-offs

Korean shares edged down on Monday as institutional investors sought to lock in their gains, more than offsetting a net purchase by foreigners and retail investors. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 2.36 points, or 0.12 percent, to close at 1,989.76. Trading volume was slim at 320.6 million shares, with losers outnumbering winners 459 to 346. KOSPI (Bloomberg)Local shares opened a tad higher following a three-day r

March 21, 2016

Hyundai Securities sale heats up; Kim‘s Club bid to close amid dwindling interest

Two of this year’s most anticipated corporate sales are to enter the final round of bidding in the coming days, but from the way things look now, they may be in for quite different outcomes. The race to take over Hyundai Securities is heating up, with the joining of another strong contender. Meanwhile, Kim’s Club, being put up for sale by E-Land Group, appears to have failed in drumming up interest from potential buyers, industry sources and local reports said. Hyundai Securities (Yonhap)KB Fina

March 21, 2016