KRX chief vows investor protection over Kakao stock options row

The Korea Exchange will work to bring about a transparent market that affords retail investors better protection from market abusers and helps companies find the support they need to go public and compete with global peers, the bourse operator’s chief said Monday. “We see rebuilding market trust as key to that mission. This is an unprecedented time in that we have so much attention drawn to us,” Chairman and CEO Sohn Byung-doo said at a press conference, referring to recent ro

Jan. 25, 2022

Korea seeks longer FX trading hours to win developed status from MSCI

SEJONG -- South Korea’s chief economic policymaker on Tuesday has confirmed the government’s intention to come up with measures to win developed market status from Morgan Stanley Capital International. The government has pushed for continuous attempts to campaign for Korea’s capital market -- such as stock and foreign exchange markets -- to be included in MSCI’s Developed Markets Indexes. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki commented on investors&rsquo

Jan. 25, 2022

Korea’s virtual asset market to reach W1,000tr by 2026: report

Korea’s virtual asset market will reach 1,000 trillion won ($835 billion) by 2026, Boston Consulting Group Korea said Tuesday in its report Future of Asset 2022. According to the report, the country’s virtual asset market already surpassed 300 trillion won by the end of last year to take up 10 percent of the global market. With an average annual growth of 20 percent over the next five years, the virtual asset market will also create 40,000 jobs in the process, BCG Korea said. The

Jan. 25, 2022

Market cap of top 30 groups jumps 33.2% over 4 years

South Korea's top 30 family-controlled conglomerates have seen their stock market capitalization spike more than 30 percent over the past four years, with Samsung Group taking the top spot, a market tracker said Tuesday. The combined value of 201 listed firms belonging to the leading business groups, known as chaebol here, came to some 1,504 trillion won ($1.26 trillion) as of Friday, up 33.2 percent from Jan. 2, 2018, according to the Leaders Index. The number of their listed units was up 16

Jan. 25, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower on Fed uncertainties, virus woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, as investors await the US Federal Reserve's stance about rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 19.65 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,772.35 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to end its two-day monetary policy meeting Wednesday (local time), which is expected to give clues on its monetary policy direction. South Korea's record high virus tally also added to the concerns about str

Jan. 25, 2022

Kospi hits 13-month low on US rate hike worries

Worries over the sooner-than-expected rate hike by the US led South Korea’s benchmark Kospi to dip below 2,800 Monday, a first since Dec. 23, 2020, when it closed at 2,759. The Kospi fell 42.29 points or 1.49 percent from Friday to close at 2,792, sparking concerns over a prolonged slump. “Investors fear reduced liquidity. And the markets are catching up with the Fed, which has signaled two things: an earlier rate hike and tapering of the pandemic-era market support,” said Oh

Jan. 24, 2022

Seoul stocks tumbles to 13-month low ahead of Fed meeting

South Korea's main stock index plunged to a 13-month low Monday, as investors dumped local stocks ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi dived 42.29 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 2,792 points. The Kospi closed below the 2,800-point mark for the first time since Dec. 23, 2020. Trading volume was moderate at about 468 million shares worth some 9.2 trillion won ($7.7 billi

Jan. 24, 2022

BOK says mock issuance, distribution of digital currency successful

South Korea’s central bank said Monday that it has successfully completed the pilot testing of issuance and distribution of digital currency. The Bank of Korea has wrapped up the first phase of its two-part mock testing of the central bank digital currency in December and has been carrying out the second phase “smoothly.” Once the second phase wraps up in June, the BOK plans to start discussions on its actual launch and commercialization. It aims to expand the scope of the t

Jan. 24, 2022

Listed firms' rights issues nearly double in 2021

South Korean listed companies' rights issues nearly doubled in 2021 from a year earlier, data showed Monday. Companies listed on the country's main and other stock markets raised a combined 50.6 trillion won ($42.4 billion) through 1,346 rights offerings last year, up 97.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. The number of last year's rights offerings was up 19.3 percent from the previous year. Rights issues by companies listed on the main K

Jan. 24, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower ahead of Fed meeting

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday, as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 18.49 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,815.8 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded bearish, led by losses in chemical and tech companies that are usually more sensitive to borrowing costs. The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise its policy interest rate in March. It is to

Jan. 24, 2022

[Newsmaker] Korea Exchange to decide fate of scandal-ridden Osstem Implant

The Korea Exchange on Monday will decide whether Osstem Implant should undergo an eligibility review to stay listed on the country’s second bourse Kosdaq, making it the third biotech firm facing a possible delisting this year. The dental implant manufacturer’s stock trading was suspended on Jan. 3 as the company announced that it had filed embezzlement charges against an employee for stealing 221 billion won ($185 million) in company funds. The stock market operator can postpone t

Jan. 23, 2022

Woori, Shinhan chiefs pledge to achieve customer centricity

 Chiefs of South Korea’s Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank vowed to pursue customer-centric changes as a key goal for this year, the firms said Sunday. Woori Bank CEO Kwon Kwang-seok asked his employees to cooperate with the firm’s transition into a “customer-centric financial platform,” at a business strategy meeting held on both Zoom and via the metaverse. “The timeless solution toward success for businesses has always been the customers,” Kwon said at the

Jan. 23, 2022

Watchdog to look into stock options row at Kakao Pay

The Financial Supervisory Service is looking to scrutinize whether executives’ decision to exercise stock options that prompted a stock plunge at Kakao Pay was a sign of risk management deficiencies the financial services firm should address, according to an FSS official. The CEO and two other executives at Kakao Pay stepped down Thursday amid criticism that their exercise of stock options in December last year, a month after the firm listed, brought an unwarranted stock dip.  The C

Jan. 21, 2022

Seoul stocks at over 1-yr low on rate hike concerns

South Korean stocks retreated nearly 1 percent Friday, marking the lowest closing since December 2020, due to inflation woes amid heightened expectations of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 28.39 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 2,834.29 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 524 million shares worth some 10.5 trillion won ($8.8 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers

Jan. 21, 2022

ELS sales in S. Korea gain 4.6% in 2021

Sales of equity-linked securities (ELS) in South Korea expanded nearly 5 percent in 2021 from a year earlier on greater issuance of products tracking overseas stocks, data showed Friday. The value of ELS products floated in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 72.2 trillion won ($60.5 billion) last year, up 4.6 percent from the prior year, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. ELS refers to hybrid debt securities whose returns are linked to the performance of underlying

Jan. 21, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower on Wall Street fall

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, tracking an overnight fall on Wall Street amid surging global inflation woes and rising interest rates. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 21.6 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,841.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.  On Thursday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.9 percent, the broad-based S&P 500 went down 1.1 percent and the Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, decre

Jan. 21, 2022

LG Energy Solution IPO brings record fees

An 11-member brokerage syndicate underwriting an initial public offering of LG Energy Solution next week is expected to raise a whopping 89 billion won ($75 million) in management fees following the record-breaking retail bids, made on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to regulatory filings on Thursday. The fees account for 0.7 percent of 12.7 trillion won that the electric vehicle battery maker is expected to raise from a total of 42.5 million shares priced at 300,000 won apiece. Separately, th

Jan. 20, 2022

Kakao’s spinoff IPOs losing momentum

Kakao, one of South Korea’s two largest internet giants along with Naver, is seen as holding back its plans to float shares of key subsidiaries in listings, amid looming market disappointment over controversial sell-offs by executives. Earlier this month, CEOs of Kakao Pay and KakaoBank were accused of driving down stock prices with sell-offs that critics say should not have taken place right after their listings when their shares ran high. This prompted regulators to vow greater protecti

Jan. 20, 2022

Seoul stocks rebound on bargain hunting, China's rate cut

South Korean stocks rebounded Thursday on investors' move to buy oversold stocks after the recent stock plunge and China's interest rate cut. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 20.4 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 2,862.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 388 million shares worth some 8.7 trillion won ($7.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 709 to 174. Institutions bought a net 106 billion won and r

Jan. 20, 2022

Eased regulations eyed to increase investment in fintech industry: regulator

The head of South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday he is seeking to ease restrictions on financial companies' investment in fintech firms as part of efforts to expand support for the fast-growing industry. Jeong Eun-bo, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remarks in a meeting with leading officials of the fintech industry, saying his agency will push for the enactment of a relevant law on the matter. "We will push for the enactment of the so-called fintech

Jan. 20, 2022