Korea Development Bank may face parliamentary hearing

[THE INVESTOR] The Korea Development Bank is facing increasing heat over its part in the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering crisis. Following the damning reports from the Board of Audit and Inspection, the KDB has come under fire for allowing the shipbuilder to reach critical conditions unchecked. As more of its malpractice comes to light, the possibility of a parliamentary hearing on the state-run policy bank has surfaced. On June 17, Rep. Kim Jong-in, the interim leader of the main opp

June 17, 2016

GE plans to sell shares in Hyundai Card to several PEFs

[THE INVESTOR] GE Capital, financial services unit of the US conglomerate General Electric, is in final-stage talks to sell its stake in Korea’s Hyundai Card and Hyundai Capital, to unwind a decade-old joint venture relationship that it formed with Hyundai Motor. As a part of GE’s move to shift away from consumer finance globally, GE Capital plans to sell its 43 percent stake worth 760 billion won (US$ 650 million) in the credit card business to several private equity funds by splitting the stak

June 17, 2016

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean stocks opened higher on June 17, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after Britain postponed its referendum campaign on its European Union membership in the aftermath of a lawmaker’s death. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 16.38 points, or 0.84 percent, to 1,968.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large caps traded bullish. Market top cap Samsung Electronics gained 0.99 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor increased 1.12 percent

June 17, 2016

Korea‘s shipbuilding industry likely to remain flat in H2

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s shipbuilding industry is expected to remain lackluster while auto, electronics and steel industries are unlikely to improve in the second half of this year, experts said on June 16. They said local shipbuilders are likely to suffer a lack of fresh orders, a move that could put further strain on embattled shipyards.They made the predictions on the country’s major industries in a seminar organized by the Federation of Korean Industries that speaks for the country’s lar

June 17, 2016

Anchor Equity Partners to sell Kyungnam Energy

[THE INVESTOR] Anchor Equity Partners , a Seoul-based private equity fund, plans to sell its stake in Kyungnam Energy after the gas provider delisted from the benchmark KOSPI last month, according to a source at an investment bank on June 16.Anchor Equity Partners, the second-largest shareholder of Kyungnam Energy, recently sent out a request for proposals to local and foreign investment banks and is currently seeking advisors for the deal. The disposal plan comes two years after the PEF acquire

June 16, 2016

Seoul looks to reduce banks’ forex uncertainties

[THE INVESTOR] Seoul is looking to strengthen the ability of local banks to deal with sudden changes in the international market, the financial authorities announced after a meeting Thursday. As part of the plans -- finalized at a meeting between the financial regulators, central bank and Finance Ministry -- local banks will be required to raise their foreign exchange liquidity coverage ratio to 80 percent by 2019. The FX LCR is maintained at a level between the net forex outflow expected over a

June 16, 2016

Tax revenue growth credit-positive for Korea: Moody’s

[THE INVESTOR] A significant rise in South Korea’s tax revenues in the first four months of this year is credit-positive for Korea as it will help support the government’s stimulus packages, Moody’s Investors Service said on June 16. In December, Korea’s credit ratings was upgraded from Aa3 to Aa2 by the rating firm, which changed its economic forecast from positive to stable, noting its stronger economic and fiscal fundamentals compared to China and eurozone countries. “The increased tax revenu

June 16, 2016

DreamT Entertainment to delist from KONEX

[THE INVESTOR] DreamT Entertainment, home to a four-member K-pop girl group Girl’s Day, plans to voluntarily delist from KONEX, the country’s stock exchange for start-ups and SMEs, to join the secondary KOSDAQ on Nov. 18.  Idol group Girl's Day.“As the company has started working on TV drama production, we expect additional revenue from our diversified business portfolio,” a Dreamt Entertainment official said. He blamed KONEX market’s low trading volume for the venue change, saying its corporate

June 16, 2016