Seoul fails to make MSCI cut

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea failed to put its stock market back on Morgan Stanley Capital International review list of developed market index candidates after failing to accept requirements from the widely followed global index provider, the financial regulator said Wednesday. MSCI cited the absence of an around-the-clock market to exchange Korean won with other currencies and delays in Seoul‘s packages of financial reforms that will take effect after 2017, as some of the main reasons, the Financ

June 15, 2016

Hyundai Steel says no plans for 4th furnace at Dangjin plant

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Steel Co. is not reviewing plans to build another furnace at its Dangjin Steel Mill, the company said June 15. A local daily had reported that the company was reviewing plans to build another furnace, and that the plans could be put into action within two or three years. Citing unnamed Hyundai Steel officials, the report claimed that the related plans were under review due to the maintenance needs of the existing three furnaces.Hyundai Steel Co.An official with the company

June 15, 2016

Seoul bourse opens lower on pending Fed decision

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares opened lower June 15 in light of growing “Brexit” rumors and investors adopting an uncertain attitude while waiting for the decision on rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid down by 0.87 point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,970.16 in the first 15 minutes of trading. As decision on the U.S rate has been inching toward finalization since June 14, investors are keen on receiving more information on the matter.  123rf.Marke

June 15, 2016

Seoul rejects some MSCI requirements

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean government authorities have rejected some of the requirements issued by Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc. for joining its list of developed market index candidates.“Requests, such as operating an around-the-clock market to exchange Korean won is going to be tough,” said FSC Vice Chairman Jeong Eun-bo. “This is owing to Korea’s high reliance on exports, making market stability an important factor.” On June 14, MSCI said the Seoul bourse had failed to make it to

June 15, 2016

Seoul bourse opens lower on pending Fed decision

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares opened lower June 15 in light of growing “Brexit” rumors and investors adopting an uncertain attitude while waiting for the decision on rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid down by 0.87 point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,970.16 in the first 15 minutes of trading. As decision on the U.S rate has been inching toward finalization since June 14, investors are keen on receiving more information on the matter. (Yonhap)Mark

June 15, 2016

Samsung Heavy plans drastic labor cut by 2018

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Heavy Industries Co. will cut its workforce by up to 40 percent by 2018 as part of restructuring plans, its CEO Park Dae-young revealed on June 15. At present, the company’s regular workforce stands at about 13,000 workers. Speaking on the company’s internal broadcasting network, Park said that between 30 to 40 percent of the workforce will be cut by the end of 2018. He also said that the company will begin a voluntary redundancy campaign this year aiming to cut the workfo

June 15, 2016

Top chaebol owners' 5-year dividend income tallied at W1.46 tln

Dividend payments to the owners of South Korea's top 10 conglomerates were tallied at 1.46 trillion won ($1.24 billion) for the past five years, despite their firms' sluggish earnings, data showed Wednesday.Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Kun-hee, South Korea's richest man, topped the list with a total of 681 billion won in dividends from 2011-2015, according to the data by Chaebul.com, a corporate information provider on large businesses. Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee (Yonhap)La

June 15, 2016

DSME unionists vote to strike over self-rescue plan

[THE INVESTOR] Unionized workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, one of the country‘s top shipyards, voted Tuesday in favor of a strike at the debt-ridden company’s restructuring plan. YonhapIn a vote asking 6,980 unionists whether to go on strike, 85 percent, 6,127 out of 5,207 who cast ballots, voted yes, according to the labor union. Unionists also demanded DSME to include them when the company holds talks with creditors over rehabilitation schemes. “The result shows that the wor

June 14, 2016

Hanjin chair sells unlisted stock to buy up Hanjin KAL shares

[THE INVESTOR] Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho sold shares in an unlisted company on June 14 to purchase new stocks that will be issued by Hanjin KAL.Hanjin KAL is a holdings firm affiliated to Hanjin Group.  The Investor.Cho sold 84,530 shares of Jungseok Enterprise Co. for 25.1 billion won ($21 million). Jungseok Enterprise is a property management company also affiliated to the group. Following the sale, Cho’s stake in the company fell from 27.21 percent to 20.34 percent. As for Hanjin KAL,

June 14, 2016

Brexit to weigh down Korean financial market

[THE INVESTOR] As the vote over whether Britain should leave or remain in the European Union is drawing near, analysts are issuing a series of warnings that Britain’s EU exit, or “Brexit,” would have a severe impact on the global economy.A Brexit would also deal a blow to Korea, whose biggest free trade partners include the EU, as investors are expected to pull their funds out of Asian markets exposed to risks stemming from Britain’s EU referendum.(Yonhap)Confidence has already begun to be negat

June 14, 2016

Seoul stocks down on Fed meeting, Brexit woes

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean stocks fell for four straight sessions on Tuesday as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve‘s meeting amid concerns over Britain’s possible exit from the European Union. The Korean won edged up against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 7.05 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 1,972.01. Trade volume was moderate at 434.38 million shares worth 4.91 trillion won ($4.19 billion), with losers far outnumbering winners 546 to 259.(Yonh

June 14, 2016

Korea’s pension behemoth eyes alternative investments

South Korea’s public pension fund will keep increasing alternative investments and reduce local equities in the long term, as the behemoth fund’s snowballing assets will be too large for the domestic stock market, its chief investment officer has said.The National Pension Service, which manages about 524 trillion won ($450 billion) collected from 21 million Korean subscribers, is a significant client for leading asset managers around the world, who are hunting attractive real estate, infrastruct

June 14, 2016

Korea to open energy supply market to private sector

[THE INVESTOR] The government will partially open the nation’s state-controlled energy supply market to the private sector, as part of comprehensive restructuring plans for public firms accused of inefficient management and high debt levels, officials said Tuesday.In a workshop meeting led by President Park Geun-hye, chiefs of state firms also vowed to reduce non-core work and list a total of eight power suppliers to attract fresh funds and improve management transparency.　Chiefs of state firms

June 14, 2016

Top financial regulator to closely monitor shipbuilders’ restructuring

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s top financial regulator will closely oversee the ongoing industry-wide restructuring process of the country’s debt-laden shipbuilders to ensure that the companies fully implement their overhaul plan worth over 10 trillion won. Financial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong said Tuesday he will hold a biweekly meeting to check whether top local shipyards are making sufficient efforts to normalize their businesses.  Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.“In the firs

June 14, 2016

Ex-civil servants a favorite for large firms’ outside directors

[THE INVESTOR ] A large proportion of outside directors at large enterprises are former civil servants, a recent report showed, raising concerns that the system may be being abused to gain advantage in dealings with government bodies. According to a report by the Economic Reform Research Institute, about a third of outside directors employed between 2006 and 2015 were former civil servants.  Civil servants enter the government complex in Seoul. The InvestorThe report analyzed the backgrounds of

June 14, 2016

Hyundai Heavy to face unions’ resistance

[THE INVESTOR] Labor unions of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and the company’s contractors announced on June 14 that they will resist the shipbuilder’s restructuring plans.Speaking at a press conference in Ulsan, the unions’ leaders said that the two bodies will work together and that the company is being unfair.“Hyundai Heavy, which is said to have the strongest finances of the big three shipbuilders, is pushing the toughest plans,” the union leaders said. “The despair of laborers in the area is

June 14, 2016

South Korea’s national assets grew 5.7% in 2015

[THE INVESTOR] In 2015, South Korea’s total assets grew 5.7 percent from a year earlier, central bank data showed Tuesday.As of the end of 2015, the country’s national assets came to 12,359.5 trillion won ($10.54 trillion), up 5.7 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The 2015 tally is almost eight times higher than the country’s nominal gross domestic product for the same year.The increase, however, came mostly from a rise in nonfinancial assets, ref

June 14, 2016

Korea set to announce stimulus fiscal policies: finance minister

The South Korean finance minister said Tuesday that the government will announce a package of fiscal policies that would sufficiently stimulate the economy in the second half amid growing concerns over further economic downturn.Asia's fourth-largest economy has been in the doldrums since the beginning of the year as faltering exports, the key economic driver, weigh heavily on the entire economy, especially production. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (Yonhap)The latest data showed that South Korea's i

June 14, 2016

[LOTTE CRISIS] Lotte firms’ market cap lose another 400 billion won

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group companies’ market capitalization dropped by more than 400 billion won ($340 million) on June 14, the second trading day since the corruption probe began.On June 10, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office began an extensive corruption probe on the conglomerate. The authorities believe that Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho and other family members have embezzled billions of won from the group.  The Investor.According to market data, the nine listed Lotte firms’ market

June 14, 2016

Korean government makes last-minute push for MSCI inclusion

[THE INVESTOR] The Korean government is making a last-ditch effort to get its stock market included in the top category of global market indices, government officials said on June 14. The key decision by New York-based index provider MSCI on the potential inclusion of Korea on its developed market index was to be announced Wednesday. To request the upgrade, a delegation of officials from a financial regulator and economic ministries, recently visited MSCI’s office in Hong Kong, according to the

June 14, 2016