Crypto exchanges see sales surge amid hope for mega deals

Amid months of bullish cryptocurrency markets, digital coin trading volume is enjoying a stellar performance, raising expectations for a high market valuation of their businesses. The country’s two largest crypto exchange operators -- Dunamu and Bithumb Korea -- both recorded a hike in sales and revenue last year, backed by increased transactions from November, when the largest digital coin Bitcoin rose above 20 million won ($17,640) for the first time in 34 months. Dunamu, the operat

March 24, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 4th day on virus resurgence concerns

South Korean stocks retreated for a fourth consecutive session Wednesday as concerns over the resurgence in virus cases in Europe and the United States cast doubts over a prompt recovery from the pandemic. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.39 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 2,996.35 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 965 million shares worth some 13.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering l

March 24, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on inflation doubts

South Korean stocks fell below the 3,000-point mark Wednesday despite the overnight decline in the US Treasury yields, as doubts about a quick recovery from the pandemic continued to loom heavily on investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 30.63 points, or 1.02 percent, to 2,974.11 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a weak start amid foreign and institutional selling, largely affected by the 1.12 percent overnight loss on th

March 24, 2021

Asset managers' 2020 profits surge on stock rally

The combined net profit of asset management companies in South Korea surged 62.4 percent in 2020 from a year earlier due to a strong gain in commission fees amid a bullish stock market, data showed Wednesday. The combined net profit of 326 asset management firms came to 1.33 trillion won ($1.17 billion) last year, up 511.8 billion won from a year ago, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Analysts attributed the jump in their earnings to the bullish run of the South Korean stoc

March 24, 2021

Experts say guidelines missing for new rule on crypto asset trade

Blockchain industry experts urged the government to introduce detailed guidelines on real-name accounts required for all cryptocurrency exchanges under implementation of a new law known as the Specific Financial Transactions Act. Slated to take effect Thursday, the new rule obligates registration of all virtual asset operations, making it only possible for operators to conduct trades carried out with the real-name accounts opened via local banks. The new rule is introduced to prevent money l

March 23, 2021

[News Focus] Should ban on short selling be lifted?

SEJONG -- Short selling, which is under a provisional ban in South Korea, has been a core issue in the local financial market since the novel coronavirus initially hit the nation 14 months ago. Short selling is a trading strategy in which investors are entitled to sell “borrowed” stocks at particular prices. They can reap gains by repurchasing the stocks -- which is dubbed “short covering” -- at lower prices later. Before COVID-19 dealt a blow to the country, local and

March 23, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 3rd day on concerns over US bond yields, US-China relations

South Korean stocks slumped for the third consecutive session Tuesday amid uncertainties related to the longer-term US Treasury yields and US-China political ties. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 30.72 points, or 1.01 percent, to close at 3,004.74 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 15.9 trillion won ($14.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 653 to 216. Foreigners sold a net

March 23, 2021

More South Korean unicorns eye overseas IPOs

Startups in South Korea appear to have set their eyes on stock markets overseas, in pursuit of bigger investments as well as greater recognition of their potential on the global stage. Social casino game developer and publisher DoubleDown Interactive is the latest local unicorn seeking to be listed on the US’ tech-heavy Nasdaq bourse. It submitted an F-1 filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission last year, but tentatively postponed its initial public offering plans in July. But

March 23, 2021

Shinhan Financial becomes 2nd Korean member of VBA

Shinhan Financial Group said Tuesday it became the first Asian financial holding firm to join the nonprofit Value Balancing Alliance in Frankfurt, Germany, a cross-industry organization developing a valuation standard for monetizing impacts of ESG management.  ESG refers to the policies of factoring in environmental, social and governance-related issues in business operations. Founded in June 2019, the VBA is comprised of 18 multinational corporations, including South Korea’s thir

March 23, 2021

Number of stock accounts tops 40m

The number of stock trading accounts in South Korea has risen sharply over the past year to surpass the 40 million mark amid a buying craze by retail investors, industry data showed Tuesday. Active stock accounts in Asia's fourth-largest economy numbered 40.07 million as of Friday, up from 35.48 million at the end of last year. It marks the first time that the country's number of active stock accounts has exceeded the 40-million level. The number has increased by approximately 10 million sinc

March 23, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher as US Treasury yields fall

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight Wall Street advances amid a fall in US Treasury yields. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.74 points, or 0.49 percent, to 3,050.2 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.23 percent, as the yield on the US 10-year Treasury fell, easing investor concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics gained 0.

March 23, 2021

S. Korea to take 'timely' actions to stabilize bond market if necessary: official

South Korea will take actions to stabilize the bond market in a timely manner if market volatility increases amid concerns over rising US bond yields, a senior government official said Tuesday. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said financial authorities will flexibly adjust the sale volumes of Treasury bonds. "If volatility increases, the government will focus on stabilizing the bond market by taking timely actions through close cooperating with related agencies," Kim said a

March 23, 2021

ESG becoming mainstream in insurance market

Environmental, social and corporate governance issues are gaining momentum in the local insurance sector as insurers increasingly follow the global ESG trend. In one of the latest moves, Samsung Fire and Maritime Insurance, the insurance arm of the nation’s largest conglomerate, set up a committee charged with making business decisions regarding ESG matters on Monday. The new committee will enable the insurance firm to swiftly respond to demand for ESG, the company said. “The c

March 22, 2021

August IPO likely for Kakao Pay despite MyData hiccups

The much-anticipated listing of Kakao Pay, the financial technology arm of mobile giant Kakao, could come as early as August, according to industry sources on Monday, despite recent hiccups in securing a license for personal data integration services, called MyData, from financial authorities. Kakao Pay was not included when the Financial Services Commission announced a list of 28 companies granted approval for MyData business. Kakao Pay’s rival Naver Financial and Viva Republica were

March 22, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day amid bond yield woes

South Korean stocks lost for the second consecutive session Monday as investors' concerns about the increase in bond yields reduced their appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.07 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,035.46 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 903 million shares worth some 13.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 456 to 389. Foreigners sold a net

March 22, 2021

Coupang becomes hottest foreign stock for Koreans in debut week

South Korean investors‘ net capital inflow into Coupang shares came to $87.5 million in its first week on the New York Stock Exchange, data showed Monday. The figure was the highest among foreign stocks during the cited period, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. Among Korea-based foreign stock traders, Coupang in its first five trading days was hotter than US electronic devices giant Apple, US gaming firm Roblox, SoftBank’s internet subsidiary Z Holdings and e

March 22, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on bond yields woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday, as investors' concerns about the bond yields hike reduced their appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.8 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,037.73 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks turned lower after a choppy start, due to increasing bond yield concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. The yields of the 10-year US Treasury finished last week at the highest levels in about

March 22, 2021

Frequent listing and delisting of cryptocurrencies raise concerns and risks

The number of listed cryptocurrencies has soared in the past four years, as the rapid rise of the price of Bitcoin attracts investor attention to digital assets. However, investors should be cautious as digital coins easily get listed and delisted. Upbit, one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, launched in October 2017 with only one digital token -- Bitcoin -- but it now has 114 coins trading on the platform. Bithumb had eight digital coins in May 2017, but now it trades 1

March 21, 2021

S. Korean bankers received an average salary of W100m in 2020

South Korean bankers under four major lenders here saw an average median pay increase of over 8 percent in the past three years, making nearly 100 million won ($88,500) on average last year despite a shrinking workforce due to digitalization, data showed Sunday. The average annual income gained 8.6 percent from end-2017 to 98 million won as of end-2020, data provided by the four major banks – KB Kookmin, Hana, Woori and Shinhan – showed. Of the banks, employees under KB Kookmin re

March 21, 2021

[Top Bankers] What South Korea’s longest-serving bank chief faces in 2021

This is a part of series of interviews and analysis of South Korea’s top bankers, policymakers and investors leading the financial industry here. This is the second installment. -- Ed. Despite COVID-19 woes that swept across South Korea’s financial sector, 2020 seemed like a milestone year for Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai. The 69-year-old was named as one of the highest earning banking group leaders here -- earning an annual salary of 2.6 billion won ($2.2 million)

March 21, 2021