Seoul stocks likely to face volatility next week: analysts

South Korean stocks are likely to face volatility next week amid concerns about energy shortages in China, as well as lingering uncertainties over the bond yield rates in the United States, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 3,019.18 points Friday, down 3.4 percent from a week ago. The weekly loss came as US political wrangling about raising its debt ceiling weakened investor sentiment. Spiking Treasury yields in the world's largest economy also f

Oct. 2, 2021

S. Korea’s stocks slump amid China’s Evergrande crisis, US tapering woes

South Korea’s stock market slumped in September on the back of the debt crisis involving Evergrande Group, one of China’s biggest property developers, and a hint by the US Federal Reserve that it would begin tapering. According to the Korea Exchange, the country’s stock market operator, the benchmark Kospi lost 4.08 percent to 3,068.82 points during September. The secondary tech-heavy Kosdaq shed 3.88 percent to close at 1,003.27 points during the same period. Kospi’s

Oct. 1, 2021

Seoul stocks slump on US inflation worries

South Korean stocks dipped Friday on concerns about early inflation in the United States and the extended virus curbs at home. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 49.64 points, or 1.62 percent, to close at 3,019.18 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 845 million shares worth some 12.8 trillion won ($10.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 779 to 125. Foreigners sold a net 300 billion won, while retail inves

Oct. 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] Over half of young Seoulites can’t afford buying house without parents’ support: survey

Over half of young people living in Seoul say they couldn’t buy a home without the help of their parents, data showed Friday. According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Institute, a think tank under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 53 percent out of 676 Seoul citizens ranging in age from 18 to 34 said that it would be impossible to purchase a house without financial support from their parents. The nationwide average is 46 percent. While 44 percent of respondents said that they would

Oct. 1, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on US inflation woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, tracking overnight Wall Street losses that stemmed from concerns of an early inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 7.19 points, or 0.23 percent, to 3,061.63 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index slumped, following rallies by the US long-term Treasury yields, which fanned concerns that the Federal Reserve might hurry to taper its stimulus to reign in the pace of inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial

Oct. 1, 2021

‘Korea downplays impact of liquefied natural gas on climate change’

South Korean public financing institutions have played down the impact of liquefied natural gas on climate change, according to climate activist group Solutions for Our Climate on Thursday. Greenhouse gases are being emitted throughout the liquefied natural gas supply chain -- from extraction to liquefaction, transportation, regasification and consumption -- said the climate activists during an event held in Seoul. “The threat of greenhouse gas emission from the liquefied natural

Sept. 30, 2021

BOK's dollar net selling, buying on par in Q2 market smoothing operations

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday its net selling and buying of the US dollar remained on par in the second quarter as part of its efforts to help ease fluctuations in the local currency market. In the first quarter, the BOK sold a net $103 million to stabilize the Korean currency's movement, compared with a net purchase of $11.5 billion three months earlier. The central bank began releasing such data in March 2019 to help boost the transparency of its market stabilization steps. A BOK offic

Sept. 30, 2021

Seoul stocks end 2-day losing streak on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks rebounded Thursday after a two-day loss, as investors bought oversold stocks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 8.55 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,068.82 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 867 million shares worth some 14.5 trillion won ($12.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 542 to 316. Foreigners bought a net 35 billion won, while institutions sold 225 billion won. Retail inve

Sept. 30, 2021

Gamevil to become Coinone’s second-largest shareholder

South Korean game developer Gamevil said Thursday it will become the second-largest shareholder of Coinone by acquiring a 22 percent stake in the cryptocurrency exchange. During a board meeting Wednesday, the company, through its fully owned subsidiary Gamevil Plus, decided to buy 151,218 shares of the digital coin exchange for 53.9 billion won ($45.5 million). After the additional share purchase slated for January next year, Gamevil will hold a 38 percent stake in Coinone. 　 “The acq

Sept. 30, 2021

Kurly CEO calls for more domestic growth capital in Korea’s startup ecosystem

More homegrown late-stage venture capital investing is crucial to spurring South Korean startups to be able to scale up and innovative for job creation and economic development, which will ultimately lead to a windfall for investors, head of Seoul-based unicorn Kurly said Thursday. “Once a startup achieves a scale-up at a certain point, the value it can create is immense,” Sophie Kim, founder and chief executive officer, said during KDB Nextround 500, a special investor relation eve

Sept. 30, 2021

Banks' lending rates rise in August

South Korean banks' lending rates rose in August as the Bank of Korea (BOK) delivered its first pandemic-era rate hike, central bank data showed Thursday. The average interest rate charged on new bank loans came to 2.87 percent in August, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the BOK. The BOK cut the key interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent in May last year after delivering an emergency rate cut of half a percentage point in March to cushion

Sept. 30, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on lingering US bond uncertainties

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as the bond yields in the United States remained high, raising concerns about an early inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 13.57 points, or 0.44 percent, to 3,046.7 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The South Korean main index got off to a muted start after its US stock peers closed mixed. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 0.24 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 r

Sept. 30, 2021

Under new law, Upbit set to verify 8.3 million users

Upbit, South Korea’s first cryptocurrency exchange to receive a green light from regulators, is gearing up to verify its massive number of users to fulfill the next important duty under the anti-money laundry act. Industry watchers believe Upbit’s user verification could take as long as three months due to its massive user base of 8.3 million and a public ID verification system operated by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The ministry’s identity verification system

Sept. 29, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day amid US bond yield woes

South Korean stocks slumped for second straight day to lose more than 1 percent Wednesday morning amid concerns about spiking bond yields and the US debt ceiling. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) dipped 37.65 points, or 1.22 percent, to close at 3,060.27 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 812 million shares worth some 15 trillion won ($12.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 676 to 215. Foreigners sold a net 659

Sept. 29, 2021

Concerns rise over foreign property speculators

While South Korea’s financial authorities tightened their grip on property speculation and the resulting price hikes, foreign investors turned out to have purchased local apartments worth trillions of won, a lawmaker said Wednesday citing a lack of regulations on foreign property speculators. Apartment purchases by investors from China and the US, between 2017 and May 2020, amounted to 3.16 trillion ($2.6 billion) and 2.19 trillion won, respectively, according to Rep. Kim Joo-young of t

Sept. 29, 2021

Seoul stocks open steeply lower on US stock plunge

South Korean stocks opened nearly 1.5 percent lower Wednesday, tracking an overnight plunge on Wall Street amid concerns about spiking bond yields and the US debt ceiling. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) dropped 45.27 points, or 1.46 percent, to 3,052.65 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite plummeted 2.83 percent and the S&P 500 dipped 2.04 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 1.63 percent. Investor senti

Sept. 29, 2021

[KH Finance Forum] Asia rises to new destination for ESG investing

Asia is projected to emerge as a destination for sustainability-driven investment, and integrating environmental, social and governance factors is key to discovering the less well-tapped investment opportunities in the region, a veteran investor said Tuesday. Spurred by rising secondary battery demand, combined with a projection of fast-paced electric vehicle adoption, Asian countries including South Korea are in a race to make good on their bid to achieve carbon neutrality and cultivate new e

Sept. 28, 2021

KFCC logs W208.9b in H1 net profit despite COVID-19 woes

The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, the nation’s leading mutual financial institution, said Tuesday it has managed to post strong profits despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the leadership of President Park Cha-hoon and Ryu Hyuk, chief executive officer of Credit & Insurance -- the KFCC’s business unit responsible for building strategies for the group’s financial management as well as operating deduction services -- the cooperative logged a net profit

Sept. 28, 2021

Seoul stocks skid over 1% on tech losses

South Korean stocks fell more than 1 percent Tuesday as investors offloaded tech shares amid concerns of surging virus cases. The Korean won sharply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 35.72 points, or 1.14 percent, to close at 3,097.92 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 881.95 million shares worth 14.38 trillion won ($12.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 711 to 193. Institutions offloaded a net 555.2 billion won, while re

Sept. 28, 2021

[KH Finance Forum] ‘Integrated strategy, bold investment key to digital transformation success’

Successful digital transformation requires not only technological change but also digital capabilities ranging from creating a strong customer experience to reinventing business models, the chief strategist for Shinhan Financial Group’s digitalization said Tuesday. “One of the key factors that causes setbacks is an unintegrated digital business transformation strategy that leads to an ambiguous vision and goal setting,” said Sunny Yi, chief digital officer of Shinhan Financial

Sept. 28, 2021