[Exclusive] Hana signals entry to digital payment market

Hana Bank applied for trademark rights to the name “Hana Payments” last month, signaling that it is gearing up to enter the nation’s easy-to-use digital payment market. Industry sources told The Korea Herald on Thursday that the lender applied to register the name with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on March 19. This suggests that the lender may soon join the race to offer online-based easy payment solutions, market watchers said. Major financial groups including K

April 15, 2021

Korea witnesses growing co-investment opportunities: Adams Street Partners

The burgeoning co-investment market in South Korea has reached maturity enough to offer attractive opportunities for investors, US-based investment firm Adams Street Partners said Thursday. Institutional investors that carry out co-investment strategies with its private equity fund managers in Korea and abroad are likely to take advantage of the private equity market in the fourth-largest economy in Asia, a trade powerhouse with growth potential in select industries, noted Dave Brett, partner

April 15, 2021

Venture capital investments hit all-time high: KDB

The amount of venture capital investments made in the South Korean market last year reached a record high of 4.3 trillion won ($3.8 billion), according to state-owned Korea Development Bank on Thursday. The startup industry has seen an increasing inflow of capital in recent years. The amount of venture investment pumped into the startup market came in at 3.4 trillion won in 2018 and 4.2 trillion won in 2019. The startup segment is expected to gain further momentum thanks to the government&rsq

April 15, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat on virus concerns

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Thursday amid lingering concerns over the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 1.22 point, or 0.04 percent, to 3,183.6 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a muted start after South Korean health authorities said the country may need stronger social distancing measures if daily COVID-19 cases remain high throughout the rest of the week. The country added 731 new cases Wednesday, the highest sinc

April 15, 2021

S. Korea's stock market cap hits new high

The value of stocks traded on South Korea's main bourse has reached an all-time high on the back of a recent market rally, data showed Thursday. The market capitalization of listed companies in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to a new high of 2,220.7 trillion won ($1.99 trillion) as of Wednesday, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. The amount was about 8 trillion won more than the previous record posted on Jan. 25. The country's main stock market has been bullish with the benchm

April 15, 2021

Namyang Dairy shares surge on COVID-fighting yogurt claim

Shares of Namyang Dairy Products, one of South Korea’s major dairy firms, soared in intraday trading on Wednesday as the company claimed that its own yogurt lineup Bulgaris can reduce the infection risk of COVID-19. The dairy company’s shares once spiked up 28.68 percent to 489,000 won ($437.39) in the early morning trading session, but plunged 5.13 percent to close at 360,500 won. Within some 20 minutes after the opening bell, its preferred stocks also shot up by a daily permiss

April 14, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 3rd day on strong jobs data, eased inflation woes

South Korean stocks closed a tad higher to extend their winning streak to a third day Wednesday as investor sentiment was boosted by the country's better-than-expected jobs data, coupled with overnight rallies on Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 13.3 points, or 0.42 percent, to finish at 3,182.38. Trading volume was moderate at 1.7 billion shares worth 15.3 trillion won ($13.7 billion), with gai

April 14, 2021

Bitcoin prices hit fresh record amid Coinbase IPO expectation

The price of a bitcoin hit another record high, both in local and global exchanges, buoyed by the expectation for the highly anticipated public listing of US crypto exchange Coinbase Global. Bitcoin prices rose to above 82 million won ($73,000) on domestic exchanges early Wednesday, while the coin’s price on overseas exchanges reached new heights at $63,742 per unit. The prices for Ethereum, the second-largest digital coin by market capitalization, also touched its highest points, risin

April 14, 2021

Litigation looms over foreign trade finance fund debacle

A looming legal battle between a top insurance firm and an issuer of derivative-linked securities raises concerns over the financial product -- whose underlying asset, a trade finance fund, had deferred redemption. Samsung Life Insurance, which sold over 53 billion won ($47 million) worth of DLS products through a privately pooled fund, is awaiting court proceedings against NH Investment & Securities, the brokerage firm that issued the DLS for the seller, the company said Wednesday. A Sa

April 14, 2021

Women hold 7% of executive positions in S. Korea’s finance sector

Women accounted for merely 7 percent of the management boards of financial institutions in South Korea, despite making up nearly half the sector’s workforce, data submitted to a lawmaker showed Wednesday. The number of women who hold executive positions in 444 financial institutions stood at 358, or 7.4 percent of the entire executive pool of 4,855 as of end of last year, according to Financial Supervisory Service data submitted and distributed by the minor progressive Justice Party Rep.

April 14, 2021

JB Financial launches intraboard ESG committee

Provincial bank-led financial institution JB Financial Group said Wednesday it had launched an intraboard committee responsible for making business decisions focused on environmental, social and corporate governance values.  As the top decision-making body for ESG management, the new committee will develop corporate strategies and policies regarding the incorporation of ESG criteria into the group’s business portfolios, while supervising ESG-related initiatives conducted by its af

April 14, 2021

Overseas stock transactions hit new high in Q1

South Koreans' overseas stock transactions touched a new high in the first quarter of the year on brisk investment in US tech firms, data showed Wednesday. Local investors' trading of overseas shares was valued at $128.51 billion in the January-March period, up 96.5 percent from three months earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). It represents the largest quarterly amount since data tracking began in 2011. The figure covers overseas stock purchases and sales

April 14, 2021

Amid pandemic, WeWork Korea tops in revenue growth

Driven by corporate demand for alternative offices amid the pandemic, WeWork Korea’s revenue last year jumped 20 percent, the highest of all branches of the US co-working space firm worldwide, its new chief said. Without providing exact numbers, Patricia Chun, WeWork Korea’s general manager, said the Korean office is the only WeWork branch in the world to see 20 percent revenue growth during the peak of the pandemic last year, while the New York and London locations hemorrhaged mo

April 14, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on eased inflation woes, job data

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on eased inflation woes and better-than-expected job data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 3.86 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,172.94 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors' sentiment improved after the country reported the first job additions in 13 months in March in the latest sign that the employment market is recovering. Also, overnight advances in the US stock market boosted appetite for risky assets. In

April 14, 2021

Cautious approach needed for YouTube stock investing channels: study

The growing influence of YouTube stock investing channels could have a negative impact on investors’ decisions as well as the stock markets, a study showed on Tuesday. Nam Gil-nam, senior research fellow at Korea Capital Market Institute, said during a seminar titled “The implication of growing retail investors” that information from YouTube channels could distort investors’ decisions. Using an analysis of two YouTube investment channels, Nam suggested that stock pric

April 14, 2021

Blockchain professionals discuss digital asset trends

Blockchain professionals and experts flocked to Seoul on Tuesday to discuss the latest trends surrounding digital assets. Topics at the seminar, dubbed World Blockchain Summit Marvels Seoul 2021, revolved around wealth transfers with the arrival of digital assets, digital transformation in the world of finance, blockchain-driven business models and regulatory hurdles, as well as the world of decentralized finance. Digital asset wallet developer Bitberry’s Chief Executive Officer Yoo Ja

April 13, 2021

Samsung Card presents AI-powered customer analysis at Nvidia forum

Credit card issuer Samsung Card said Tuesday that it has delivered a presentation on how it is using artificial intelligence in marketing and customer analysis at an online tech conference held by chipmaker Nvidia. The online Nvidia GPU Technology Conference, which began in 2009, is an event where developers, researchers, and officials from private companies around the world share trends and information on AI, machine learning and supercomputing technologies. In its online presentation avai

April 13, 2021

Mirae Asset bets on global unicorns eyeing IPOs

South Korean brokerage firm Mirae Asset Securities is betting big on global startups going public on US stock markets. Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing recently submitted its regulatory filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. According to Bloomberg, the company’s estimated valuation stands at nearly $100 billion. When Mirae Asset invested about 300 billion won ($266.65 million) in the firm in 2018, it was valued at $56 billi

April 13, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 2nd day on earnings hopes

South Korean stocks rose for the second straight session Tuesday on hopes for better earnings amid a global economic recovery. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 33.49 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 3,169.08. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.7 billion shares worth some 16.1 trillion won ($14.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 477 to 358. Foreigners bought a net 445 billion won, while retail investors p

April 13, 2021

Korea's crypto investors appear to be shifting toward minor virtual coins

An ample amount of investors appears to be shifting toward other minor coins, market watchers here said on Tuesday, citing a sudden decline of trading volume of Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency. According to Upbit and Bithumb, South Korea’s two leading crypto exchanges, trading volume of Bitcoins fell 40 percent last month from January apparently due to an abrupt surge in the virtual coin. The price of Bitcoin more than doubled from 31.66 million won ($28,000), the lowest point in

April 13, 2021