Overheated housing market, IPO draws foil efforts to curb household debt

Taking impact from the panic buying trend in the local real estate market as well as explosive interest in a series of mega initial public offerings, South Korea’s household debt surged at a rapid pace in July.  Household debt gained more than 6 trillion won ($5.2 billion), despite government measures to tighten bank lending, industry data showed Tuesday.  The outstanding balance of household debt -- the total of financial loans plus credit card-based payment services extend

Aug. 3, 2021

K bank sees first-ever quarterly profit

K bank, South Korea’s first internet-only bank, announced Tuesday that the company saw a quarterly profit for the first time since its launch four years ago. The net profit in the second quarter came to 3.9 billion won ($3.39 million) on the back of an increase in both interest and noninterest incomes, the company said. Combined with the first quarter’s loss of 12.3 billion won, the loss in the first half of the year stood at 8.4 billion won, a dramatic decrease from last year&

Aug. 3, 2021

Online lender K-Bank logs 1st quarterly profit in 4 years

K-Bank, South Korea's first internet-only bank, said Tuesday it turned a profit for the first time since its inception in the second quarter of the year on robust growth in customers and deposits. Net profit stood at 3.9 billion won (US$3.4 million) in the April-June period, a sharp turnaround from a net loss of 12.3 billion won three months earlier, K-Bank said in a regulatory filing. It represents the online lender's first quarterly profit since its launch in April 2017. In the first half o

Aug. 3, 2021

Woori Financial Group CEO buys W54m of treasury stocks

Woori Financial Group Chairman and CEO Son Tae-seung has acquired 5,000 treasury stocks worth over 54 million won ($46,800) to enhance its corporate value, the banking group said Tuesday. Son bought the stocks at a price of 10,875 won per share. Since the chairman took office in March 2018, he has bought treasury stocks 14 times. With the latest purchase, he now holds a total of 93,127 shares. The financial services holdings firm plans to implement a more active set of shareholder return

Aug. 3, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on tech gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, led by gains in major tech firms. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 5.53 points, or 0.17 percent, to trade at 3,228.57 in the first 25 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a solid start as tech heavyweights jumped on speculations of high global demand. In Seoul, market kingpin Samsung Electronics rose 1.64 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 3.02 percent. Giant pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics lost 0.33 p

Aug. 3, 2021

Fitch ups NH NongHyup’s credit rating to A

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings on Monday raised NH NongHyup Bank’s long-term credit rating from A- to A, in recognition of its leading position in the local banking industry, while keeping the firm’s outlook at stable.  “As of last year, about 12 percent and 14 percent of the total credit loan applications and savings programs operated by local commercial banks were made through NH NongHyup Bank, respectively. The latest upgrade reflects the bank’s possibi

Aug. 2, 2021

Toss offers free transactions amid growing online bank competition

Viva Republica, South Korea’s leading financial technology company, announced Monday that it would eliminate transaction fees for Toss users, as it gears up for growing competition with internet-only banks and other fintech firms. The app Toss, which handles up to 2 million won ($1,730) at any given time, previously charged 500 won for each money transfer after providing the first 10 transfers free. But starting from Monday, Toss users can transfer money at no cost. The move comes as

Aug. 2, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound on solid export data

South Korean stocks rebounded Monday, helped by strong economic data that fueled optimism for a quick economic rebound from the pandemic. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.72 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 3,223.04 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 554 million shares worth some 10.1 trillion won ($8.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 501 to 329. Foreigners sold a net 148 billion won, while inst

Aug. 2, 2021

Jungheung signs on for Daewoo E&C takeover

A South Korean investor consortium led by Gwangju-based construction conglomerate Jungheung Group has signed a memorandum of understanding to initiate talks surrounding the acquisition of a 50.75 percent stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction, a filing showed Monday. Following the nonbinding agreement, the investor group -- comprising Jungheung Group and investment bank Mirae Asset Securities -- will carry out due diligence before signing a binding deal with the company‘s largest

Aug. 2, 2021

Visa Korea names new head

Global credit card giant Visa has appointed Patrick Storey, former chief operating officer of consulting and analytics business, as the new head of its overseas unit covering South Korea and Mongolia. He replaces Patrick Yoon, who had led Visa‘s Korea and Mongolia operations since 2018. Joining Visa in1996, Storey worked in the risk management, operations and sales departments in global and regional businesses, according to the company. “Based on his more than 20 years of experi

Aug. 2, 2021

Lotte Group’s rental unit looks to cement leadership with IPO

Lotte Rental, the South Korean car rental service unit under Lotte Group, said Monday that it is looking to take a leap forward to lead future mobility platforms through its market debut on the nation’s main board Kospi this month. “We have provided various rental services as the industry’s No. 1 company with the goal of creating better lives for our customers,” Kim Hyun-soo, CEO of Lotte Rental, told reporters during an online press briefing. “We’re looking

Aug. 2, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on solid export data

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, helped by strong economic data that fueled optimism for a quick economic rebound from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.44 points, or 0.45 percent, to 3,216.76 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a bullish start as South Korea's July exports jumped 29.6 percent on-year to a record high amid high demand for chips and autos. Top cap Samsung Electronics added 1.02 percent, and No. 2 chi

Aug. 2, 2021

Mid-sized crypto exchanges shut down amid FSC inspection

Mid-sized local cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea are shutting down as the country’s finance regulator has caught some of their illegal activities recently, and stricter regulations are to be implemented to allow their business operations, industry sources said Sunday. According to the sources, the 11 exchanges that have used fraudulent collective accounts will most likely close business as Financial Services Commission plans to stop their transaction and notify illegal activities to the

Aug. 1, 2021

Traditional banks bolster online mortgage services to compete with KakaoBank

South Korea‘s traditional banks are planning to expand online and mobile mortgage services this month in an apparent bid to gain an upper hand in the market against the fast-growing KakaoBank, which announced its plan to launch 100 percent online home loan services. Internet banks like KakaoBank and K Bank have gained popularity with contactless credit loan services but the mortgage market has so far occupied by traditional lenders, which still prefer to receive property-related document

Aug. 1, 2021

Hyundai Capital launches knowledge sharing platform for its global entities

Hyundai Capital Services, the country’s leading auto financing company, said Sunday that it launched an online knowledge sharing platform for its global entities to share new strategies and up-to-date progress of product development. The “Online Knowledge Sharing Platform,” which to be developed into a global product hub, will help global entities to share product strategies, experiences and knowledge from the different regions in real time, the company said. The online pl

Aug. 1, 2021

NPS gains 5.8% in 5 months as CIO extends term

South Korea’s public pension fund, the National Pension Service, gained a cumulative 5.8 percent in the first five months of this year, a preliminary estimate showed Friday. This robust growth brought the value of the world’s third-largest pension fund to 892.3 trillion won ($775.9 billion) as of May, approaching the unprecedented 900 trillion won mark despite lingering COVID-19 uncertainties in the global capital market. The news came a day after the NPS extended Chief Investment

July 30, 2021

Hahn & Co. mulls legal action as Namyang Dairy takeover faces delay

Buyout firm Hahn & Co., a proposed buyer of a controlling stake in Namyang Dairy Products, said Friday it is considering legal action against ex-Chairman Hong Won-sik, as the proposed seller delayed the deal on the date of the transaction without consent. This comes as the proposed seller put off the extraordinary shareholders meeting scheduled Friday morning by six weeks to early September, citing “more time needed to contemplate on the deal before closing upon the request of both p

July 30, 2021

EcoPro BM, SKIET, Kakao Games likely to join MSCI index: analysts

While South Korea’s main bourse Kospi has stayed confined in a range of around 3,200-3,300 points for a month, market watchers are paying close attention to which stocks will be added to the Morgan Stanley Capital International’s index in an upcoming announcement. The US-based finance firm is slated to announce August’s quarterly review result of the MSCI Korea Index on Aug. 12. Since foreign capital is expected to flow into listed companies that newly join the index, the for

July 30, 2021

Seoul stocks dip over 1% on China uncertainties

South Korean stocks fell more than 1 percent Friday amid rising uncertainties related to China's clampdown on its tech firms. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slumped 40.33 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 3,202.32 points. The figure marks the index's largest daily drop since May 13. Trading volume was moderate at about 677 million shares worth some 12.6 trillion won ($11 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 643 to 213

July 30, 2021

Apartment transactions dive in June ahead of housing subscription program launch

Nationwide apartment transactions plunged in June ahead of the launch on Wednesday of a subscription program for newly built homes, which put the brakes on a buying spree in the local real estate market, data showed Friday.  According to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, a total of 88,922 apartment units changed hands across the nation last month, down 35.8 percent from 138,578 a year earlier.  In the Greater Seoul area, the transaction volume fell 44.

July 30, 2021