NPS logs 9.6% annual investment return in 2020

South Korea’s public pension fund National Pension Service posted an annual return rate of 9.58 percent last year, marking the second-highest record in a decade, the nation’s welfare minister said Friday. “Last year’s figure stood at 0.99 percentage point higher than our benchmark of 8.59 percent. ... The amount of profit earned from the investment also came to 72.1 trillion won ($63.6 billion),” said Kwon Deok-cheol, minister of health and welfare, who chairs the

July 2, 2021

Seoul stocks rise on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Friday, taking a cue from Wall Street gains that stemmed from positive economic data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.38 points, or 0.13 percent, to trade at 3,286.44 points as of 9:15 a.m. Stocks advanced despite rising concerns over the new coronavirus outbreaks, backed by hopes of a fast global economic rebound. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.38 percent on improving manufacturing and jobless da

July 2, 2021

Krafton lowers IPO price amid overvaluation concern

South Korean game developer Krafton has decided to lower its initial public offering price range ahead of its market debut on the country’s benchmark Kospi next month, following criticism from both financial authorities and market watchers saying that its valuation is “overrated.” The company made some corrections on its prospectus Thursday via DART -- the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure board -- by reducing a target price band and the number of ne

July 1, 2021

Kosdaq refreshes yearly-high closing above 1,035 points

South Korea’s tech-heavy Kosdaq set its new yearly-high closing mark on Thursday, surpassing 1,035 points. The secondary bourse closed at 1,035.64, up 5.68 points, or 0.55 percent, from the previous session’s close. This year’s previous closing high was 1,031.88, set on April 20. The index once reached as high as 1,036.47 in afternoon trading, thanks to foreigners and institutional investors’ extending buying sprees. It was the second highest point in nearly 21 years,

July 1, 2021

KIC vows to increase alternative exposure to 21% by 2024

Korea Investment Corp., South Korea‘s sole sovereign wealth fund, pledged to increase its exposure to alternative assets to 21 percent by 2024, from 16.1 percent as of May 2021, its Chief Executive Officer Jin Seung-ho told reporters Thursday. The institutional investor, managing $183.1 billion in assets as of end-2020, aims to maximize its long-term expected return by capitalizing on the risk of tying up capital in less liquid assets, and to spread out the risk into various asset classe

July 1, 2021

Internet-only banks in war for talent ahead of IPO

South Korea’s internet-only banks are battling to secure top talents as they prepare to take on their next big challenges -- a public listing for KakaoBank and the official launch of Toss Bank. KakaoBank said Thursday that it had exceeded 1,000 employees as of the end of June, more than doubling the workforce of 390 it had in 2017 when it launched. The company is preparing for its initial public offering, which is expected to raise more than 2 trillion won ($1.77 billion). Toss Bank a

July 1, 2021

Banks urged to minimize 'unnecessary' household loans

A top financial regulator called Thursday for banks to minimize "unnecessary" household loans as policymakers warn of growing financial imbalances amid a surge in home prices. Eun Sung-soo, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), made the remarks at a meeting with chief executives of 13 banks earlier in the day. Eun's remarks also came as the Bank of Korea has hinted that it could conduct its first post-pandemic rate hike later this year as the nation's economic recovery

July 1, 2021

JB Financial sets ESG goals for sustainable growth

JB Financial Group on Thursday laid out mid-and long-term strategies to step up its sustainable business management focused on environmental, social and corporate governance values. In a statement, the holding group of Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank introduced its ESG goals under a new company vision titled “Marching toward a better future with JB Financial.”  The company will strive toward adopting a swift response to climate-related risks, achieving carbon neutrality, ethic

July 1, 2021

Hanwha sells partial stake in US-based Nikola

Hanwha General Chemical and Hanwha Energy have sold a 0.74 percent stake in US electric truck maker Nikola Corp. as part of efforts to secure funds for new eco-friendly projects, including hydrogen, a filing showed Thursday. Green Nikola Holdings, Hanwha’s US subsidiary, offloaded 2.9 million shares from its previously owned 22.13 million shares, according to its US Securities and Exchange Commission filing published Wednesday there. Following the transaction, its equity holding in Nikol

July 1, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on virus worries

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as concerns of new coronavirus variants weakened investors' appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.61 points, or 0.2 percent, to trade at 3,290.07 points as of 9:15 a.m. Stocks got off to a lackluster start after South Korean authorities pushed back the easing of the social distancing measures in the greater Seoul area for a week, citing risks from the highly contagious delta strain of COVID-19. Mar

July 1, 2021

Short selling dips nearly 30% in June amid bullish stock market

The amount of short selling in South Korea plunged nearly 30 percent in June from a month earlier on a bullish stock market, data showed Thursday. The daily turnover of short selling on the country's main and minor stock markets averaged 506 billion won ($448 million) last month, down 28.3 percent from May, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. The main market posted a 31.6 percent tumble, with the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market registering a 13.2 percent decline. Short selling is an inves

July 1, 2021

Securities lending service startup snaps up $3.1m funding

Seoul-based financial technology startup Tru Technologies said Wednesday it raised series A investment worth $3.1 million from Korean investors. Joining the latest round were Hana Financial Investment, Hanwha Investment & Securities, KB Investment, Kiwoom Investment, Korea Growth Investment Corp., Shinhan Capital and Stonebridge Ventures. The fundraising comes in line with the growth of its electronic securities lending platform, called TruWeb. The platform, launched in 2020, has offered

June 30, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound on vaccine hopes

South Korean stocks rebounded Wednesday after a two-day retreat, following a US drugmaker's announcement that its vaccine turned out to be effective against COVID-19 variants. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 10 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 3,296.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 15.3 trillion won ($13.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 436 to 380. Foreigners so

June 30, 2021

Four crypto exchanges join hands to comply with global anti-money laundering regulations

South Korea’s four major cryptocurrency exchanges have decided to launch a joint venture ahead of the upcoming implementation of domestic and global anti-money laundering regulations, the companies announced Wednesday. The heads of the four exchanges -- Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit -- got together Tuesday and signed a memorandum to create the joint venture, which will develop a system that will help them comply with the “travel rule.” The travel rule is a global standa

June 30, 2021

After 25-year ride, Kosdaq’s market cap jumps over 50-fold

The value of stocks traded on South Korea‘s tech-laden Kosdaq market had reached 427.7 trillion won ($379 billion) as of Tuesday, soaring more than 50 times since its launch on July 1, 1996, data showed Wednesday. According to a report released from the Korea Exchange, the market began with a combined market capitalization of 7.6 trillion won 25 years ago, but as the number of listed firms increased from 341 to 1,506 over the cited period, the secondary bourse has rapidly increased its si

June 30, 2021

Sustinvest hands Shinhan with highest ESG rating

South Korean proxy advisory firm Sustinvest on Wednesday said it has given Shinhan Financial Group the highest rating for environmental, social and governance values for the first-half of this year. Sustinvest, which also provides ESG analytics and advisory services here, assesses and rates some 1,000 listed businesses annually on their ESG initiatives. The ESG advisor said its criteria includes whether the firms’ management are eco- and society- friendly and have sustainable corporate g

June 30, 2021

SK REITs gears up for IPO

SK Inc. said Wednesday that its board had approved an initial public offering of its wholly-owned subsidiary SK REITs in the second half. This opens doors to SK REITs' plan to raise 231.2 billion won ($204.3 million) from the IPO, or 5,000 won apiece, as suggested in the prospectus earlier this month. Korea Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities and SK Securities will be underwriters of the IPO. SK REITs will start trading on the Korea Exchange‘s main board Kospi, followin

June 30, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on US stock gains, following a US drugmaker's announcement that its vaccine turned out effective against the spreading virus variant. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 11.25 points, or 0.34 percent, to trade at 3,297.93 points as of 9:15 a.m. The Kospi got off to a bullish start, taking a cue from Moderna's announcement that its COVID-19 vaccine produced protective antibodies against the highly contagious delta variant. Ov

June 30, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day amid spreading virus woes

South Korean stocks retreated for the second straight session Tuesday as concerns of new coronavirus variants weakened investors' appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15.21 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 3,286.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 14.2 trillion won (US$12.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 549 to 303. Foreigners sold a net 550 b

June 29, 2021

Gap between highest and lowest-priced apartments hits record high

Housing polarization is rapidly deepening in South Korea, with the gap between the highest- and lowest-priced apartments widening to its greatest level on record in June, data showed Tuesday.  According to data from KB Kookmin Bank’s real estate services platform Liiv On, apartment prices in the top 20 percent range reached an average of 1.1 billion won ($978,000) this month, gaining nearly 200 million won on-year. This marked the highest number since the lender started to compile

June 29, 2021