Consumer price growth hits 14-month high in March

South Korea’s consumer prices grew at the fastest clip in 14 months in March, since the coronavirus pandemic dealt a serious blow to the nation’s economy early last year, according to a report Friday. The price for spring onion, in particular, grew by more than 300 percent over the course of a year, marking the steepest growth in 26 years and 11 months. The surging price of scallion is thought to be one of the main reasons behind the soaring prices of agricultural products. The

April 2, 2021

Seoul stocks hit six-week high on US stimulus hopes

South Korea's benchmark stock index closed at the highest point in six weeks Friday on strong foreign and instutional buying amid hopes for a massive infrastructure project in the United States. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 25.4 points, or 0.82 percent, to close at 3,112.8 points, the highest number since Feb. 17. Trading volume was moderate at about 781 million shares worth some 13.2 trillion won ($11.7 billion), with

April 2, 2021

Weathering COVID-19 crisis, institutional investors seek more alternative exposure to curb risks

South Korea‘s institutional investors were seen averting the COVID-19 crisis to take decent returns, and pledged to increase their exposure to alternative assets to control the latent volatility risks. The Korean Teachers’ Credit Union said Friday it reaped a windfall in 2020 by taking advantage of the stock market rebound following the depths of the COVID-19 crisis. The KTCU, Korea‘s second-largest institutional investor, said it has returned 10 percent for 2020, or 3.3 tri

April 2, 2021

Nexon founder richest man in Korea with $14.1b in asset

Kim Jung-ju, CEO of gaming firm Nexon’s holding company NXC, is Korea’s richest businessman, with assets valued at $14.1 billion, according to a report from a US think tank. Kim was ranked 144th on a list of the world’s billionaires that showed Jeff Bezos, CEO of e-commerce behemoth Amazon, topping the list with assets totaling $178 billion. The CEO of luxury products behemoth LVMH Moet Hennessy, Bernard Arnault, and his family, were second on the list, with $162.6 billion.

April 2, 2021

Seoul stocks open steeply higher on US stimulus project

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on the back of a massive infrastructure project by the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 30.08 points, or 0.97 percent, to 3,117.48 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded bullish due to market optimism over a $2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal in the US, which local investors hailed as a sign of rising global demand. Auto and tech shares got off to a strong start, taking a cue from the ove

April 2, 2021

Brokerages among highest-paying firms in S. Korea

South Korean stock brokerage firms were among highest-paying companies across all industries last year with an average annual salary of more than 120 million won ($106,288), data showed on Thursday. According to data compiled by recruitment firm Job Korea, employees at Korea’s top 100 listed companies were paid an average annual pay of 83.2 million won. Claiming the top spot of the list for the highest-paying workplaces here, stock trading firm Samsung Securities, paid 131 million won

April 1, 2021

Investors flock to unlisted stock markets in search of ‘next Coupang’

On the heels of e-commerce platform Coupang’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange last month, which saw a valuation of over $100 billion, retail investors are seeking out similar opportunities with emerging companies on their way to market debuts. Booming interest in unlisted companies such as Viva Republica, Kurly and Krafton is stimulating support for platforms such as Stockplus Unlisted and Seoul Exchange, which link buyers and sellers of privately held companies’ stocks, ac

April 1, 2021

Seoul stocks hit 2-month high on US stimulus plan

South Korea's benchmark stock index closed at the highest in two months Thursday amid hopes for a massive infrastructure project by the United States. The Korean won slightly fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 25.98 points, or 0.85 percent, to close at 3,087.4 points, the highest since Feb. 4. Trading volume was moderate at about 910 million shares worth some 13.8 trillion won ($12.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 420 to 419. F

April 1, 2021

S. Korean retail investors’ stock holdings inch closer to foreign ownership

Stocks held by Korean individuals jumped by 58 percent last year, getting closer to be on par with that of foreigners amid an equity investment craze, data showed Thursday. The local investors’ ownership accounted for 28 percent of the total market capitalization as of end-2020, up 3.6 percentage points on-year, according to data compiled by the Korea Securities Depository. Their holdings were worth around 662 trillion won ($584.89 billion), soaring 58 percent from a year earlier. In

April 1, 2021

JB Financial sets up overseas business unit

JB Financial Group, the holding group of Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank, said Thursday it has launched a new division in charge of overseas business activities to expand its global presence.  The banking giant appointed its incumbent senior executive officer, Yim Young-taick, formerly CEO of the group’s North Jeolla Province-based Jeonbuk Bank, to lead the newly launched global business division.  Yim, 70, served as Jeonbuk Bank CEO since 2014 until his retirement in March.&nb

April 1, 2021

[#WeFace] EVs, green loans and less paper: S. Korean banks take baby steps toward ESG

This article is part of analysis and interviews by The Korea Herald’s finance desk staff exploring South Korea’s budding ESG investment market, as well as its potential, impact and challenges. -- Ed. Of all the changes stemming from the banking sector’s embrace of environmental, social and governance values in recent years, according to 53-year-old Shin Hae-jin, the one that stands out most is the absence of paper in “paperwork.” “Since last year, I’ve

April 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] Shinhan Bank employee shot in Myanmar, sends jitters across Korea’s finance sector

A Burmese employee at Shinhan Bank’s Yangon branch was shot amid an escalating bloodshed in Myanmar, the South Korean lender and a Burmese news outlet said Thursday. The female employee was shot while heading home in a company vehicle, at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, after work. According to reports, she was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The employee’s current condition is unknown. Shinhan has been operating a branch in Yangon with a minimum number of employees stationed at

April 1, 2021

S. Korean individuals' stock holdings jump 58% in 2020

Stocks held by South Korean retail investors jumped nearly 60 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid their investment craze, data showed Thursday. Local individuals owned 662 trillion won ($586 billion) worth of listed shares as of the end of 2020, up 58 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). The on-year increase in the value of retail investors' stock holdings accounted for nearly 38 percent of last year's rise in total market capitali

April 1, 2021

Online lender K-Bank enjoys rapid growth in Q1

K-Bank, South Korea's first internet-only bank, said Thursday its customers and deposits grew exponentially in the first quarter of the year amid the coronavirus outbreak. The number of customers stood at 3.91 million as of the end of March, 1.72 million more than three months earlier, said the lender, which is led by telecom giant KT Corp. The number of new customers is far more than the number it had attracted in the three years since its inception. Outstanding customer deposits came to 8.7

April 1, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US stimulus plan

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as investor sentiment was boosted by a massive infrastructure project by the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 26.6 points, or 0.87 percent, to 3,088.02 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the US President Joe Biden announced a $2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal that is expected to quicken the global economic rebound and benefit local exporters. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics adde

April 1, 2021

SK IE Technology to go public on Seoul bourse in May

SK IE Technology Co., a battery materials subsidiary of SK Innovation Co., said Wednesday it will commence the initial public offering process for its Seoul bourse debut in May. SKIET, which makes lithium-ion battery separators, said it will float 21.4 million shares on the KOSPI market at prices between 78,000 won and 105,000 won, which would make its market value up to 7.5 trillion won ($6.6 billion). SKIET will issue 8.5 million new shares and SK Innovation will sell 12.8 million shares i

March 31, 2021

NPS returns 2.4%, slightly reduces domestic stock weighting in Jan.

South Korea‘s largest institutional investor the National Pension Service gained 2.35 percent in January from its allocation, its preliminary data showed Wednesday. The monthly disclosure also showed that the NPS, the world’s third-largest pension fund, has slightly cut its stock weighting from December 2020, indicating that the pension fund’s rebalancing effort continued against the backdrop of the record bull run in domestic bourses. Of the total 855.3 trillion won ($756.2

March 31, 2021

BlackRock to hive off retail fund business in Korea

US investment firm BlackRock said Wednesday that it aims to sell its onshore retail fund business in South Korea to a local peer, DGB Asset Management, as part of its business restructuring in the country. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval in Korea and the terms of the sale were not disclosed, BlackRock added. After the restructuring, BlackRock’s Korean arm will focus on serving Korean institutional investors with offshore investment solutions. The Korean arm, BlackRock

March 31, 2021

Education startup Ringle raises W10b

Ringle English Education Service, a South Korean education technology startup that provides 1:1 English tutoring services, said Tuesday that it had raised 10 billion won ($8.8 million) from investors as part of its Series A funding. The latest investment, which was led by returning investor Must Asset Management, puts Ringle at a valuation of 100 billion won. The edtech startup is running Series A funding until the end of April. Founded in 2015, the company has maintained a 300 percent grow

March 31, 2021

Kakao Bank CEO’s term extended for another 2 years

Kakao Bank, the banking arm of mobile giant Kakao, on Wednesday said that its board decided to extend CEO Yoon Ho-young’s term for another two years. Yoon has led the country’s second internet-only bank since 2016. On Tuesday, the board also appointed three new members -- Jin Woong-sub, former head of the Financial Services Commission, Oh Pyeong-seob, former vice president of KB Kookmin Bank, and Choi Soo-yeol, a partner at Samdo Accounting Firm.  By Park Ga-young (gypark@h

March 31, 2021