BOK's US dollar assets decline in 2020

South Korea's central bank said Wednesday the portion of its US dollar-denominated assets in its overall foreign assets declined last year due to the weakness of the greenback. At the end of last year, dollar-denominated holdings accounted for 67.7 percent of overall foreign assets held by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the central bank said in its annual report. The reading marks a 1.4 percentage-point drop from a year earlier. The portion of US dollar-denominated assets slightly fell due to a wea

March 31, 2021

Regulator to refer Apple Korea to prosecution for hampering probe

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to refer the local unit of US tech giant Apple Inc. and one of its executives to the prosecution for allegedly impeding the regulator's probe into unfair business practices. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) also said it plans to fine Apple Korea 300 million won ($265,000) for hampering its investigation. Apple Korea was probed by the KFTC over allegations that it required the country's three mobile operators to pay the cost

March 31, 2021

KB Asset fetches W3tr for ESG-themed funds

The combined value of KB Asset Management’s environmental, social and corporate governance funds exceeded 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion), the South Korean company said Wednesday. Its ESG-themed funds pooled investments worth some 600 billion won during the first quarter alone, added the Seoul-based asset management firm. In terms of the assets under its management, funds targeting alternative assets came to 2.1 trillion won, while those dedicated to equities and exchange-traded funds at

March 31, 2021

Genesis showcases luxury EV concept coupe

Genesis, the independent luxury brand of Hyundai Motor Co., on Wednesday unveiled a premium electric concept car ahead of the launch of the brand's first electric vehicle later this year. The Genesis X, showcased in a digital event and an offline debut in Los Angeles, is an EV-based high-performance Gran Turismo coupe and the brand's fifth concept car, Hyundai Motor said. The two-line lighting motif, applied throughout the interior and exterior, embodies the design language of future Genesis E

March 31, 2021

SK Telecom tipped to morph into holding company in groupwide shake up

In a groupwide governance shakeup, SK Telecom Co., the telecom unit of SK Group, may morph into an intermediary holding company this year, analysts said Wednesday, as South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate seeks to strengthen its grip on chipmaking affiliate SK hynix Inc. The telecom operator's CEO Park Jung-ho told shareholders last Thursday that the company would soon unveil plans to reshape its governance structure in a signal that the conglomerate would revamp its governance structure this year.

March 31, 2021

EXEM posts record-high fiscal year 2020 results

EXEM, a South Korean IT company, reported its best performance ever in the fiscal year 2020 that ended on Dec. 31. EXEM recently announced that consolidated sales reached 39.2 billion won ($34.8 million) last year, up by 14 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit and net profit rose 53 percent and 79 percent to 9.6 billion won and 8.7 billion won, respectively. “We have been able to achieve a record-high performance based on our accumulated DBPM, APM core technology plus a solid b

March 31, 2021

Finance minister sees improvement in domestic demand, job market

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki has forecast domestic demand and the job market will gradually improve as the country is on a recovery track amid the pandemic, the finance ministry said Wednesday. Hong made the assessment during his online meeting Tuesday with Alastair Wilson, managing director and head of the sovereign risk group of global rating agency Moody's Investors Service. The country held its annual consultation meetings with Moody's between March 25 and 30 over its economic conditions a

March 31, 2021

LG Energy, Samsung SDI among top 3 in 2020 smartphone battery market: report

South Korea's two major battery makers -- LG Energy Solution Ltd. and Samsung SDI Co. -- were ranked in the top three in the global smartphone battery market last year, a report showed Wednesday. LG Energy Solution, a wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chem Ltd., had a revenue share of 26 percent to rank second in the worldwide smartphone battery market in 2020, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics. Samsung SDI, an affiliate of the world's largest smartphone maker Samsung Electronics C

March 31, 2021

NPS, other state funds stay big net sellers of stocks in Q1

South Korea's national pension and other state funds sold more than 15 trillion won ($13.2 billion) worth of shares in the first quarter of the year due to their portfolio rules, data showed Wednesday. Net selling of shares listed on the main bourse by the National Pension Service and other state funds came to 15.7 trillion won in the January-March period, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. It accounted for 56 percent of institutional investors' total net selling worth 27.9 trillio

March 31, 2021

Manufacturers' biz sentiment rises for 3rd month for April

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment rose for the third straight month for April, but concerns about sluggish consumption remained amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 91 for April, up from 85 for March, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber op

March 31, 2021

Seoul stocks open tad higher on recovery hopes

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday on market optimism for a quick global economic recovery from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 3.36 points, or 0.11 percent, to 3,073.36 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top cap Samsung Electronics traded flat, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 0.37 percent. Giant internet portal operator Naver increased 0.93 percent, with its rival Kakao moving up 0.41 percent. Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biol

March 31, 2021

Economic recovery gathers steam as industrial output growth at 8-month high in Feb.

South Korea's industrial output grew at the fastest pace in eight months in February to recover to pre-pandemic levels, data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign that the economy is on a recovery track supported by exports. The industrial output increased 2.1 percent in February from the previous month, sharply turning around from a 0.6 percent on-month decline in January, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. From a year earlier, it rose 0.4 percent. It marked the fastest on-mo

March 31, 2021

SK hynix appoints Park Jung-ho as co-CEO

SK hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho, who is also the chief of SK Telecom, has been appointed as the chipmaker’s co-CEO at its board meeting Tuesday, the firm said. As co-CEO, Park will assume the role of building the corporate culture and leading establishment of long-term strategies for the chipmaker to strengthen global competitiveness and find new growth opportunities. Current CEO Lee Seok-hee will be responsible for development, investment and operation to strengthen technology and

March 30, 2021

Korean investors consider buying more real estate in 2021

South Korean investors are willing to acquire more real estate assets this year than last year, as the market shows signs of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic with the expansion of vaccination programs, according to a report released by global commercial real estate services firm CBRE on Tuesday. A survey of 492 investors in the Asia-Pacific region, including 40 from Korea, showed that 53 percent of Korean investors said they would purchase more real estate this year than in 2020. The figu

March 30, 2021

Samsung Card issues asset-backed securities for ESG

South Korean credit card company Samsung Card said Tuesday that it had issued foreign currency asset-backed securities linked to environment, social and governance projects. The new securities with an average of five-year maturity total $300 million in value. French banking firm BNP Paribas is one of the main investors. Capital raised through the latest securities issuance will be utilized to beef up ESG-based business operations, the card issuer said. The card business arm of Samsung Group h

March 30, 2021

Samsung, LG TVs support faster connectivity with Wi-Fi 6E

Newest TV models by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have been certified for Wi-Fi 6E technologies, the first in the global TV industry, according to the companies on Tuesday. Samsung said its 2021 Neo QLED 8K TV models have earned the world’s first Wi-Fi 6E certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi 6E, a new standard in connected technology, offers four times faster connectivity based on stable and reliable data transfers – even when multiple devices are connected t

March 30, 2021

Kia fully unveils EV6, the first EV launch since rebranding

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest carmaker and an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, on Tuesday held the digital world premiere of the EV6, its first all-electric model built on the group’s exclusive electric vehicle platform. Being the first electric vehicle to be launched since Kia Motors changed its name to Kia Corp. earlier this year, the EV6 is expected to signal a new chapter for the carmaker in light of the fast-growing mobility market. In terms of functions, the new

March 30, 2021

Bill Hwang: Pioneer of Wall Street's Asia investing and culprit behind Archegos blowup

Bill Hwang, the Korean American trader behind US market unrest involving lossmaking trades of New York-based Archegos Capital Management, was said to be one of the first Wall Street trailblazers in equity investing in East Asia including South Korea, until his fall from grace. The South Korean-born hedge fund trader is said to have played a role in bringing his mentor and investment guru Julian Robertson’s attention to the crisis-battered East Asian market in the late 1990s, including his

March 30, 2021

S. Korea's state budget likely to exceed W600tr next year

The government will keep its expansionary fiscal policy stance next year to support the recovery of the coronavirus-hit economy, the government said, hinting at another mega budget exceeding 600 trillion won ($529.2 billion). The Cabinet approved Tuesday the 2022 budget guidelines, drafted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to revive the sluggish economy. It focuses on fiscal inputs on boosting employment and domestic consumption and boosting investment in innovative technologies. Such

March 30, 2021

Coway wins global nod for ESG, corporate transparency

Coway, a South Korean home appliances rental firm, has been honored at this year’s Business Integrity Society summit for its continuous commitment to a framework for environmental, social and governance, or ESG, standards as well as corporate transparency, the company said Tuesday. It was chosen as an “Excellent Anti-Corruption Company” at the BIS Summit 2021 Anti-Corruption Awards held last week by the UN Global Compact and the Korea Social Responsible Investment Forum. &l

March 30, 2021