CJ Cheiljedang not buying China‘s MeiHua

CJ Cheiljedang Corp, South Korea’s largest food company, said Tuesday it has decided not buy a controlling stake in China’s MeiHua Holdings Group Co.The Korean company said in a public filing that it could not narrow down differences in negotiations with the Chinese firm.In January, CJ Cheilhedang signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire a controlling stake in the Chinese firm to boost the market share of its own animal feed and food additive business. By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.co

May 24, 2016

Single stock account to be available for foreigners

Korea will introduce a single account system in a pilot program to make it more convenient for foreign investors to trade stock here, the financial regulator said Tuesday. Under the "omnibus account" system, offshore institutional investors can open a single account at a local securities company to handle stock trading of their clients in Korea.Under the new system, they receive trading orders for Korean stocks from their clients and place the orders with the securities company where they have a

May 24, 2016

Samsung Asset Management mulls ETF joint venture in China

South Korea’s Samsung Asset Management said it will seek to establish a joint venture with China’s CCB Principal Asset Management to operate exchange-traded funds in China.The nation’s largest asset management firm, with 200 trillion won ($167 billion) assets under management, said it has agreed to provide advisory for three to five new ETF products to be launched under the Chinese company within this year. The Korean company also agreed to establish an advisory services provider in Beijing by S

May 24, 2016

Creditors seek to sell Hyundai Cement in July: reports

Creditors of Hyundai Cement under a debt workout program seek to sell their majority stake in the company as early as July, local news reports said Tuesday.State-run Korea Development Bank, the largest stakeholder of Hyundai Cement with 27.94 percent stake, and other creditor banks including KEB Hana Bank hold a combined 95 percent stake in the Korean maker of cement and ready-mix concrete.The speeding up of the sales process comes as uncertainties over the cement maker’s payment guarantee in th

May 24, 2016

Internet banking users, transactions rise in Q1

Korea's Internet banking service industry continued to rise at a fast clip in the first quarter with both the number of users and daily transactions reaching record highs, central bank data showed Tuesday.In the three months ended March 31, the number of Internet and mobile banking service users came to 119.8 million, up 2.5 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).The number is the sum of all registered users of 17 Internet and mobile banking service

May 24, 2016

Six Korean banks make global top 100: data

Six South Korean banks made the global top 100 banks list, though none of them were included in the top 50 bracket, data showed Tuesday.The six South Korean banks in the top 100 are KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Woori Bank, Nonghyup Financial Group and the Industrial Bank of Korea, according to an analysis of data of Bankscope, a global database on information about banks worldwide.The list is based on Tier 1 capital, a core measure of a bank's financial stre

May 24, 2016

Korea recoups 66% of public funds

South Korea has recovered around 66 percent of the public funds spent since the 1997 Asian financial crisis to bail out ailing companies, government data showed Tuesday. From November 1997 to March 2016, the government extended a total of 168.7 trillion won ($145 billion) in public funds to help financially troubled companies hit by the 1997 and the 2008 financial crises, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement.  Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong (Yonhap)As of Ma

May 24, 2016

Korea seeks inclusion in MSCI‘s review list of developed market indexes

Ahead of a key decision by MSCI, the index provider, on the potential inclusion of Korea in its developed market index, analysts here are showing mixed prospects. Asia’s fourth-largest economy was taken off the review list for a potential upgrade to developed market by New York-based MSCI in 2014, having been added to the list in 2008. Some analysts see a bigger chance for Korea Exchange to get back on the list of the top grade of global market indices which is expected to be announced on June 1

May 23, 2016

Seoul shares end higher on bio, tech gains

South Korean stocks closed marginally higher Monday on advances in the bio and tech industries. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 7.58 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,955.25. Trade volume totaled 393.8 million shares worth 4.01 trillion won ($3.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 403 to 392. (Yonhap)Individuals sold a net 67.8 billion won worth of stocks, while foreigners and institutional investors scooped up shares val

May 23, 2016

Osstem Implant bets on emerging markets for growth

In the world of dental implants, Korea is an outlier. Nearly 250 out of every 10,000 people in the population receive such treatment here, putting Korea at the top of the world in implant penetration. Getting an implant costs just $1,000-$1,500 (1.3 million won-1.8 million won) in this country with per capita income of $27,340. Credit for the popularity of one of the most expensive dentistry procedures goes to Osstem Implant. Osstem Implant‘s dental implant productsThe company, formed in 1997 by

May 23, 2016

Foreign capital outflows expected on U.S. rate rise

Shares in Korea and other emerging markets are forecast to lose ground as foreign investors are likely to pull out their funds ahead of a possible rate rise in the U.S. next month, analysts said Monday.The global market is anxiously awaiting the next Federal Reserve meeting on June 14-15 when the U.S. central bank will decide whether to raise or keep its rate steady, depending on market data especially its job rate.In a meeting last month, members of the Federal Open Market Committee sent the mo

May 23, 2016

SC Bank Korea promotes My Plus account

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said it will give out gifts to those who make a new My Plus bank account and deposit more than 1 million won ($845) by the end of May.The British banking group’s Korean unit said it will offer mobile coupons for Starbucks to the first 1,000 customers who subscribe to the savings account as part of the first anniversary celebration of the launch of My Plus. Models promote the “My Plus” bank account. (SC Bank Korea)The bank launched My Plus account in May last year an

May 23, 2016

Yuanta Securities offers special cruise deal

Yuanta Securities Korea has partnered with Redcap Tour to offer a financial travel package called “Holiday Dream Travel Fund Wrap,” the company said Monday.In preparation for the golden holiday week -- three consecutive national holidays allowing people to take an entire week off in October 2017 -- the financial travel package offers customers a 15 percent discount for a 10-day cruise to the east Mediterranean and Balkan Peninsula or a nine-day cruise to Japan’s Hokkaido Island and Russia’s Sakh

May 23, 2016

MBK Partners mulling sale and leaseback of Homeplus stores: reports

Korea’s largest private equity MBK Partners is mulling to sell five outlets of Homeplus and lease them back to help repay loans that funded the acquisition of the retailer last year, local news reports said.In October last year, MBK acquired 100 percent stake in Homeplus from British giant retailer Tesco for 7.2 trillion won ($6.1 billion) in a consortium with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Public Service Pension Plan of Canada, and Temasek Holdings. To fund the acquisition, MBK borro

May 23, 2016

Seoul aims to get back on MSCI's review list of developed market indexes

Korea is seeking to get its main stock market back on the global index provider MSCI's review list of developed market index candidates next month, government officials said Monday.From 2008 and 2014, Korea advanced to the review list stage each year but failed to obtain development market status. The failures were due to the country's inability to satisfy a series of requirements made by the MSCI. The MSCI has long cited Korea's identification-related regulations for foreign investors as a majo

May 23, 2016

Conditions for loose monetary policy become complicated

Policymakers in the government and the Bank of Korea see the environment getting complicated for easing fiscal and monetary policies to help facilitate corporate restructuring.Recent signs of prices picking up are heightening expectations that the country’s economy may be getting out of the deflationary pressure. But caution is also being raised against the possibility of measures taken to finance corporate restructuring in this circumstance leading to a steep price increase. Bank of Korea (Yonh

May 23, 2016

Korean shares open higher on Wall Street gains

Korean stocks started slightly higher Monday, taking a cue from overnight gains in Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.66 points, or 0.14 percent, to 1,950.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading. (Yonhap)Top market cap Samsung Electronics rose 0.32 percent, and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.52 percent.State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. fell 0.83 percent.In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 65.54 points, or 0.38 percent, to 17,500

May 23, 2016

Shipyards eye downsizing, dock sales

Korea’s three major shipyards, which once swept 70 percent of global orders, are to take wide-scale restructuring and downsizing steps, the impact of which may alter their global market standing amid a worldwide industry shakeup. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries, the second and third largest of the three, are considering selling “floating docks,” which in boom times allowed them to increase production capacity beyond the physical limit of onshore facility, lo

May 22, 2016

NPS picks four candidates to run hedge funds-of-funds

Korea’s National Pension Service, which manages the world’s third-largest public pension fund after Japan and Norway, said it has shortlisted four companies as candidate operators of hedge fund of funds (FoHF).The four are BlackRock Alternative Advisors, Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, Grosvenor Capital Management and UBS Hedge Fund Solutions, the NPS said in a statement.The NPS will narrow them down to two finalists by September and assign them $1 billion investment in FoHF, it said.Th

May 22, 2016

S. Korean shares expected to suffer further setback next week

South Korean stocks will likely remain range-bound next week and in the lead up to the U.S. Fed's rate-setting meeting, but may suffer additional setbacks on appreciation of the U.S. dollar, local analysts said Saturday.   On Friday, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,947.67, down nearly 1 percent from a week earlier. It also marked the fourth straight month of decline.   A heightened possibility of a U.S. rate hike following better-than-anticipated U.S. indicato

May 21, 2016