It seems like yesterday that Korea’s shipbuilding trio conquered the world, leading in the number of contracts and orders they secured with well-known shipping companies to build container ships and LNG and bulk carriers.If that was not enough, Korean shipbuilders, whose exports of those ships used to account for more than 8 percent of the total exports starting in the 1980s, ventured into supplying materials and equipment to offshore energy plants and platforms that looked highly “lucrative and

March 21, 2016

Korea shares traded 0.22 percent lower late Monday morning as institutions sought to lock in on their gains.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 4.39 points to 1,987.73 as of 11:20 a.m.The index opened a tad higher tracking gains on Wall Street last week, but pared earlier gains as institutions and foreign investors turned to selling.As of 11:20, institutional investors offloaded a net 105 billion won ($90 million) while foreign investors sold a net 3.4 billion won. Indiv

March 21, 2016

Most Korean banks have again lowered their lending rates on household loans to below 3 percent, data showed Monday, a move that could ease burdens on households but also boost household borrowing that is already at a record high.According to data from the Korea Federation of Banks (KFB), the lending rate of Woori Bank on fresh household loans has come to 2.87 percent in February, down 0.23 percentage points from 3.10 percent the previous month. Apartment complex in Seoul (Yonhap)The state-run Ko

March 21, 2016

Korean stocks opened higher, taking a cue from gains on Wall Street and extending their winning streak to a fourth consecutive session.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 3.75 points or 0.19 percent to 1,995.87 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The rally followed gains on Wall Street last week.On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average added 0.69 percent to close at 17,602.30 with the tech-laden Nasdaq gaining 0.43 percent to 4,695.65.In Seoul, large caps traded mixe

March 21, 2016

More than 650,000 Koreans have opened Individual Savings Accounts over the past week since the tax-efficient scheme was launched March 14. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on Sunday, the number of people who subscribed to an ISA account was 658,040 as of Friday and their combined deposits exceeded 320 billion won ($280 million). Even though the daily subscriptions slowed down day by day, the average subscription amount surged from 340,000 won to 490,000 won. Cash ISAs made

March 20, 2016

Han Seung-woo, a private banker at KB Kookmin Bank, helps three wealthy expatriates manage their accounts in Korea. Busy with travel, these clients leave it to Han to manage their money when they are away. For the past three years, Han has been working at the bank’s private banking center in Seoul’s affluent southern district of Gangnam. During that time, although he has yet to see a steep rise in the number of foreign customers, there has been a steady stream of inquiries from expats. A custome

March 20, 2016

The Financial Services Commission is expected to devise a policy that enables financial professionals to start their own investment advisory ventures, in the second half of this year, according to the country’s regulators on Sunday.The FSC will seek to introduce a revised law to boost independent financial advisory services in the local capital market for legislation by the end of May.The IFA revision will allow employees of financial services companies to set up and operate investment advisory

March 20, 2016

Mirae Asset Securities is expected to participate in a bid for Hyundai Securities through its investment in a private equity fund, according to news reports Sunday.The brokerage, which recently took over Daewoo Securities from the state-run Korea Development Bank, has reportedly decided to invest about 500 billion won ($430 million) in LK Investment Partners private equity for the acquisition.LK, KB Financial Group and Korea Investment Holdings have submitted their letters of intent to purchase

March 20, 2016

Without drama, SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won won his way back into the boardroom of the group’s holding firm SK Holdings on Friday, a key outcome of the “Super Friday” glut of shareholders meetings in Korea. More than 300 companies, including 10 SK companies, seven LG units and four Lotte affiliates, held their annual congress of shareholders on the day.As in previous years, shareholder debate or a vote battle to turn down a presented agenda item was a rare sight. SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won

March 18, 2016

 Standard Chartered chairman John Peace said in Seoul on Friday that the U.K. banking service group is committed to the Korean market, brushing off industry speculation that it might sell its Korean unit.“Korea is a key market force. We’re committed to staying and growing our business here in Korea,” Peace said at a forum hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea.Market suspicion is that Standard Chartered Bank Korea could be a target of mergers and acquisitions, following the Korean un

March 18, 2016

Eugene Corp., the country’s largest ready-mix concrete-maker, raised its stake in its takeover target Tong Yang to more than 10 percent, making it the company’s largest shareholder, local reports said Friday. Eugene upped its stake by 0.7 percentage point to 10.01 through the acquisition of a 0.6 percentage point stake from Aju Group and open market purchases. The move comes only a few days after Eugene publicly declared its intention to secure control of the smaller ready-mix rival. Shares in T

March 18, 2016

Global courier giants DHL and UPS are among the suitors who submitted preliminary offers for Logen Logistics, Korea’s fourth-largest package delivery firm, local reports said Friday. Private equity funds Affinity Equity Partners, CVC Capital Partners and Seoul-based STIC Investment also took part in the first round of bidding that closed Thursday, they said. Logen is 100 percent owned by Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia. J.P. Morgan is Baring’s adviser for the sale.The reports put Loge

March 18, 2016

Mirae Asset Financial Group, a local financial service provider, has agreed to take over two units of state-run Korea Development Bank for 2.38 trillion won ($2.05 billion). (Yonhap)Mirae Asset previously signed with the state-run bank to take over a 43 percent stake in KDB Daewoo Securities and all of KDB Daewoo Management for a combined 2.45 trillion won. The price was cut by 66.7 billion won, or 2.72 percent, after the value of some of Daewoo Asset‘s overseas assets and local properties was f

March 18, 2016

South Korean share prices edged up on Friday following overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 5.22 points, or 0.26 percent, to 1,992.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI was trading nearly flat at 1990.23 points as of 10:38 a.m. Traders monitor share prices at a local bank. (Yonhap)Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.90 percent to 17,481.49, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 0.23 percent to 4,774.98.Analysts sai

March 18, 2016

The Financial Services Commission said on Thursday that it held a closed-door meeting with officials from the Financial Supervisory Service, Bank of Korea and state research institutions to evaluate the country’s mortgage levels and housing market.The officials also met to resolve a misunderstanding that the country’s financial authority has been toughening its rules on loans amid a housing oversupply and high household debt.The FSC reiterated its stance that it has not enforced any regulations

March 17, 2016

Samsung C&T on Thursday denied rumors that it was in talks with paint group KCC to sell its residential construction business. “We’re not considering any sale of our residential construction business to KCC or the (rumored) establishment of a joint venture with the firm,” the Seoul-based firm said in a regulatory filing. KCC, which has a construction business affiliate KCC Engineering & Construction, also denied in a separate filing any talks with Samsung regarding the matters.Rumors have been c

March 17, 2016

An average Korean household holds 300,000 won ($255) in cash, a Bank of Korea survey shows. Those with heads of households who are older tend to hold larger amounts of cash for both payment and emergency uses. Households headed by those in their 50s keep 400,000 won -- the largest amount of cash -- at home.When it comes to the ratio of cash holdings to monthly income, households headed by seniors aged 60 or older keep 16.4 percent of their earnings in cash, the highest proportion across age grou

March 17, 2016

A loss-making apparel company’s mysterious nine-day rally on KOSDAQ has many investors questioning the stability of the country’s secondary bourse, which last year pulled off one of the world’s best gains. Codes Combine shares skyrocketed in suspicious moves, leading the entire index to faze with market distortions. The bourse operator Korea Exchange is currently looking into the seemingly unexplainable rally, suspecting a potential price-rigging scheme. Shares in Codes Combine plunged 30 percen

March 17, 2016

Korean shares hit a yearly high on Thursday, buoyed by increased demand for risky assets following the Federal Reserve's decision to freeze rates, with the local currency also climbing to this year's highest level against the U.S. dollar. After hitting an intraday high of 2,000.30 in late morning trade, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished 13.09 points, or 0.66 percent, higher at 1,987.99. The Korean currency closed at 1,173.30 against the greenback, up 20.00 won, or 1.68 per

March 17, 2016